Strategic Cyborg Evangelion - Part 2: Consecration
by amitakartok
Summary: OBSOLETE - will be merged with Part 1 and deleted; don't follow or favorite.
1. Chapter 1

_**UPDATE:** due to the actual plot being Evangelion's cranked up to eleven, I'm pondering over moving the fic from crossovers to the main Evangelion section. For those who haven't read the previous part: this is an Evangelion/Half-Life crossover partially written in the style of Nobody Dies (at least, that's the closest approximate of what's going to happen). It's also AU so be prepared for OOCness, mainly from Kaworu and Rei. Reading verse 1 is heavily recommended or you'll have no idea what's going on.  
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_Aaaaand here we are again! A new verse opens in the story with new characters, new events and new heights of snarking from Rei and insanity from Kaworu. The previous verse received almost 900 hits in the past month alone, thanks for that. I say this right out, this verse is MUCH longer._

_But there IS one thing I don't like: I still don't have any reviews for the last verse. What's the deal? Review, people, review. I don't care if it's an anon review, I want it regardless. I KNOW most of what I wrote is crap but I can't improve if I don't know WHAT to improve on!  
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_Recently, I had a small "crisis of faith" in this fic. Apparently, some people think it's too loaded with stuff and needs to be trimmed (mainly because after I explained what I want in detail, they thought it's a mega-crossover which it isn't). I thought about just dropping it here and now but then decided: fuck 'em, I'll write what I want. I want to avoid a "medley with too many ingredients" just as much as they want; I'm not stupid enough to try and write something I'll screw up anyway._

_I added some BGM to the last verse, mostly instrumental pieces. I'll do the same here as I write the chapters._

_Word of warning: the previous verse had language and implied adult stuff. This one will dial the latter up a notch but still no explicit stuff (read: there won't be any lemons here anytime soon; maybe later but not now) and adds some **really** nasty violence. Don't say I didn't warn you._

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

_Unknown system  
>August 6, 3672 AD<em>

The void itself rippled and twisted as a bright circular "hole" expanded across a diameter of over ten kilometers. Then an incredibly massive metallic bulk emerged ever-so-slowly, weapons immediately scanning for threats. Much smaller craft detached themselves from special rails they clung onto in order to tag along for the ride, scattering into a defensive formation.

After almost a minute of emerging, the megalith finally finished exiting the "hole" which almost instantly collapsed and shot an even larger ring of energy out into space. Hundreds of airlocks opened and spewed forth a gigantic cloud of fighter craft which lazily circled around the hull. Carriers added their own numbers into the tally and soon a flock of over a hundred thousand craft swarmed between the various ships of the fleet, to say nothing of the thousands of capital ships in formation.

Then a vast circular iris-like gate opened up on top the sphere that took up most of the megalith's aft section and black humanoids flew out into space in groups of three, leaving faint trails of particles behind them. Compared to the megalith itself, they were but grains of sand in size but to the fighters, they were almost five times as large.

Deep inside the megalith is a massive chamber. All but one of the walls is filled by seats, each one having an occupant surrounded by holograms. Even on the ceiling, seats suspended upside down are occupied, their users not reacting to being suspended over a lethal drop; they have no need to, as they are inside an artificial zero-G area. Vacant, unblinking eyes stare forward at the shifting figures with expressionless faces while swift hands work on unsubstantial keyboards, assisted by a thick cable plugged into a socket on the back of their heads.

In the middle of the chamber, an altar-like structure stands with several levels of seats surrounding it, their holograms painting the structure into a medley of colors. On the top level, ten figures are lying on their backs, hands on vertically positioned keyboards; their resting places are surrounded by glowing glyphs carved into the floor and similarly glowing lines connecting the ten into the elaborate hexagonal shape known as the Sephiroth. In the middle of the formation where eight lines converge, the Tif'ereth position has no one lying there. Instead, a lone figure is standing tall with a hooded robe hiding its features.

"My lord." – the navigator in the Yesod position calls out. – "Xenspace transition complete. We are on target."

"Fleet reports no malfunctions." – came the Chesed position's report.

"All Evangelions have been launched." – reports the Gevurah position.

The hood slightly nods. – "Excellent." – came the person's response, revealing it to be male. – "Execute battle plan."

"By your command." – The Gevurah Unbound tapped a few keys and spoke into the air. – "All units, Terra Control. You are herewith called upon to strike down the heathens in His name. Weapons free."

"I'm heading out. Iruel."

The ambient lighting of the chamber increased a bit as the blue figure of a woman materialized in the Malkuth position, streams of glyphs running down her translucent body. – "Hmm?" – the hologram asked.

"Take over for me and once I'm out, switch to M-configuration and kick their asses."

The hologram smiled. – "Naturally. Just try not to get killed _again_."

"Like you're one to talk. And besides, I was only _mostly_ dead." – The man turned on his heels and marched out towards the rear of the chamber, every step being accompanied by the metallic rattling of chains and the clamps of hard metal boots. He paused briefly at the feet of the silver-armored figure sitting on a throne-like structure before his feet left the ground and he flew up like a specter onto the giant's shoulder. A mechanical arm came out of the wall and he disrobed, revealing an unruly mop of grey hair. He hung the robe onto the arm which retracted, then he took off again and flew to the nearby entry plug where he dropped into the seat. The plug immediately sealed and loaded itself into position as the man's thoughts went elsewhere.

'_I remember how much of a wide-eyed idealist I was back then.'_ He smirked absently as he felt the Eva rise into an upright position. _'God, what a naive idiot I was... thinking the world could actually change on its own. Well, it was probably age – living for more than a thousand years while being surrounded by cultist nutjobs who worship the very ground you walk on sure can give someone enough hindsight to ponder on for my entire life. Sometimes I ask myself: was it really worth the price? Does humanity even deserve to be protected by my kind? The four of us gave up every possibility of a normal life, everything we had, and what did we get for it? Accusations of indoctrination for ourselves, fear and loathing for our children. It's not fair, but nothing in life is. We chose this fate ourselves.'_ He shook his head as downward G-forces pressed him into the seat. _'Wonder what the guys would think if they would see me now...I only wanted to do what I thought was right but now the entire universe quakes with fear whenever they hear our name.'_

The synchronization between him and the Eva was fully established and he looked up at the iris-gate kilometers above him as the elevator carrying them both arrived at its destination. He distantly heard through the Eva's auditory sensory organs a distant announcement sounding across Tokyo-3. – "_Attention, all personnel: M-configuration has been initiated. Repeat: M-configuration has been initiated. Transformation in one minute._"

"Touji, Kensuke... I did it, guys. I pierced the heavens... but I never could've done it without you. Rest in peace, buddies – you both earned it." – With that, Evangelion Unit-01 spread its wings and soared upwards.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>

_Nagisa/Shephard Residence, Tokyo-2  
>January 14, 2042<br>0715 hours_

He woke up to Shephard knocking on his room's door. – "Hey kid, you'd better wake up or you'll be late. Asuka already left so hurry up."

"Yeah, yeah." – the boy yawned. – "I'm up." – He climbed out of bed and went to wash the sleepiness out of his eyes.

About half an hour later, Kaworu Nagisa stepped out of the apartment building into the freezing cold outside and leisurely walked up to the black-clad form waiting at the road's edge. – "Yo, sis."

Rei nodded in response. – "_Niisan_. Are you prepared?"

"Yup." – He answered and sat behind her on the bike. Once he was securely grasping her waist, he called forward. – "I'm good. Punch it."

She didn't answer but instead revved up the engine and launched into an aggressive acceleration as if the vehicle would've been shot out of a cannon before taking the first corner with an elegant drift. If it weren't for her driving skills, he would've been late for school every day and he knew it. Still, she was the one who offered to give him a ride the first day he started going to school again after getting boiled like a crab two months ago by the last Angel.

Not only he didn't turn it down out of convenience (her dangerous maneuvers spiced up an otherwise boring journey), he didn't do it either out of familiarity. After that fateful reveal, the girl became surprisingly clingy and spent nearly every waking moment with him. Not that he didn't like the attention but it drew lots of stares in the school when she unexpectedly started cuddling him from behind. Naturally, everyone took it the wrong way and thought they were dating. No amount of screamed denials from him and quiet denials from her could convince them otherwise, although it did have one positive consequence: it got his numerous fangirls off his back. True, he did casually turn down everyone who asked him out but that was for two reasons: namely, that not only he couldn't care less for their attraction but considered a romantic relationship a distraction, now that he knew the stakes. Asuka in particular was practically fuming and called them both freaks, something she definitely would've regretted had Kaworu not grabbed Rei's wrist as she was already reaching for her revolver.

Three months ago, he wouldn't have even dreamed of doing such a thing (she was far faster than him) but Rei stayed true to her promise of protecting him and educated him in various things. Apparently, she didn't know either where their powers came from but demonstrated considerable mastery over every aspect of it. Kaworu gave her quite a stare when she mentioned they have innate psychic abilities as well but no matter how hard he tried, he was no match for her in telekinesis (something about "personal reality"; he didn't understand a word of it) and a completely lost cause in telepathy: he couldn't even communicate without words whereas Rei demonstrated her ability by asking a random street thug to jump up and down in the middle of a downtown crossroad singing the Confederate anthem and the guy immediately complied without a word. That one freaked Kaworu out quite a bit, even though she explained it wasn't actual mind control but rather a form of auditory hypnosis caused by her vocal chords emitting a sound inaudible and undetectable to humans and machines alike, making her able to implant subconscious suggestions via speech but not something that would force the victim to act against his/her morals.

It came as small consolation that there WAS one thing he could do just as well: inducing emotions via eye contact. Remembering back, he already did it once to Mari, albeit unwillingly; shortly before that, he witnessed Rei purposely doing that to scare Hikari into submission (the pigtailed girl never brought up Rei's weaponry ever again and just turned the other way when one was shown). These convinced him that he was able to do it, even if he couldn't control it yet; something similar was going on with his apparent ability of self-teleportation he demonstrated during her aborted suicide attempt but which he couldn't replicate so far.

He favored the physical aspects of their condition more: apparently, all that muscle mass he gained when he "awakened" (to use Rei's expression) wasn't just for show. In terms of raw strength, he was considerably more powerful than an ordinary human but not an exact match for Rei: while the girl didn't have as much muscle, she had telekinesis to make up for it. Thus, his attempt at bragging resulted in her chucking a wrecked car (they were training at a scrapyard to avoid making a spectacle) at him as a rebuttal. Their shapeshifting weapons differed as well: while hers had more range, for him there's no such thing as "too close" (although as he found out the hard way, she wasn't the squeamish type to beat the crap out of him bare-handed if he tried to abuse her minimum range).

She also found some unusual applications for telekinesis, like climbing smooth vertical surfaces or hanging from the ceiling upside down. When he voiced his envy at it, her response was clinging to the ceiling barehanded and barefooted, claiming that they don't need psychic assistance to navigate obstacles; she merely does it out of convenience. Combined with her driving, shooting and acrobatic abilities, Kaworu found a person who vastly surpassed him in skill. It ate at his personal pride to no end, though he found solace in one thing: the person in question was his sister.

Twin sister, to be exact.

After her reveal of the fact, the two did some research into their pasts. It didn't take them long to realize their birth date is the same, though Rei voluntarily ceded seniority to him. Not exactly the kind of little sister he wished for but whatever, he had the luck of having the most badass little sister in the world a guy could ever want, bar none. After all, what kind of little sister happens to be a crack shot with tank rifles and packs enough weapons in her trenchcoat to kill the entire class five times over? Naturally, they decided to keep it a secret from everyone, though Rei suspected Yui knew it already. This decision, coupled with Rei's clinginess, gave Kaworu quite a few headaches as everyone mistook her open displays of affection as romantic attraction. He had no intention of ever doing that; she was family and he wasn't attracted to her anyway. Neither was Tabris, either: the Angel admitted to having lied when he praised her looks in her apartment, saying that he "can't find terran females physically attractive", whatever that means.

"Shit, I'm frozen over." – complained Kaworu ten minutes later as he stiffly got off of the bike. Interesting ride or not, it was still the middle of winter. If he hadn't bought a coat last year (he couldn't afford even that while he was living in Europe), he was sure he wouldn't have gotten off without being frozen to death.

"I apologize." – Rei said quietly as she pushed the bike to the school's empty bicycle storage area. – "I shall not drive with such speed tomorrow."

"Never mind that. It wasn't your fault anyway." – said Kaworu casually as he walked into the building, eager to be in a heated place again.

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><p>"Yo, <strong><em><span>WAZZZZUUUUUP?<span>_**" – hollered Kaworu his usual greeting to his buddies. They responded in kind.

Tōji looked behind him but couldn't see Rei anywhere. – "Where's yer girlfriend?"

Kaworu groaned. – "How many frickin' times do I have to tell you? She's **NOT** my girlfriend!"

"Sure, man. Sure... " – murmured Touji dismissively. – "Anyway, where is she?"

"No idea. She was here a moment ago but got a call from the boss." – explained Kaworu as he took his usual place, one seat behind Rei's. – "And something else..." – he motioned to his friends to come closer and lowered his voice. – "We'll begin Phase 2 soon." – he whispered.

"Already?" – asked Kensuke, surprised. – "I reviewed your proposal and it's just crazy. You do know that if the hacks catch us, every one of us will be kicked out of school and go to juvie, right?"

"Yeah. As usual, whoever wants to leave is free to."

"I read it too." – added Tōji. – "Where are ya gonna get guns from?"

Kaworu smiled. – "Rei."

After a momentary stunned silence, both boys erupted. – "**WHAAAAT?**"

"Dude, she's not a member!" – protested Kensuke.

"I know she's yer girl and all but are ya sure she can be trusted?"

"Absolutely." – announced Kaworu calmly. – "You guys forget that I work with her; she already saved my life once. I fully trust her to do it again. Back to topic: I asked her about it and she said she has connections with a few gunrunners who can supply us with stuff, mostly pre-Impact weapons. That's your resort, Kensuke, isn't it?"

"Oh yeah. But still, I'm sayin' again: are you sure? If we do what you outlined, we'll essentially be doing organized crime! And guns cost a lot of money; where are you going to get all that?"

"My salary, obviously. I knew we agreed to have everyone share the cost but I doubt we can afford a single one like that."

"Hey, won't yer boss or someone wonder where did that dough go?" – asked Tōji.

"Nah, she couldn't care less. And you forget that while I do have taxed income, I'm a minor so my expenses are not monitored. Just the kind of thing we need here, don't you think?" – He was interrupted by Rei taking her seat as the teacher arrived. – "Hey, what did the boss want?"

"We are to report on premises at 1600 hours sharp for synchronization training. Additionally, we are excused from school tomorrow." – she replied.

Kaworu groaned. – "Oh great, more tests..."

"That is not the case. We, along with two companions of our choosing, are to be airlifted to the Confederate Defense Fleet's airbase at Odawara to observe the newly completed Unit-02's first field test along with the experimental A-type equipment."

That was not something Kaworu expected to hear. – "Hold on a bit, we're getting a new pilot? I didn't hear anything about this!"

"It was not deemed vital for the pilots and as such, is being handed out on a need-to-know basis. I will provide further details later in order to not disturb the class." – With that, she turned her back to him and did her usual routine of staring out the window while tuning out the teacher's droning.

Kaworu had no such luxury however, as he actually needed to pay attention if he wanted a decent grade. Still, he couldn't help but have his mind wander. _'Shephard's been going out really often lately... She says she goes to the class rep's house but is that really the case?'_ He caught himself and snorted in derision. _'Why the hell do I even care what she's doing with her time? It's not like she does about mine, anyway.'_ Their relationship was, to be mild, rather cool. When Shephard mentioned her upcoming birthday, Kaworu wrote down the exact date and when the day came, he disappeared from home until evening. The blonde was quite pissed at him for a few days, even more so than usual; when asked, her father simply shrugged and said 'time of the month' (Kaworu didn't understand what he meant but decided not to ask). He put that time to use by doing some work in his not-gang's base as well as having an extended chat with Adam. The AI became quite the philosopher, spending most of his time with existential debates between himself and Lilith. As for Lilith, she was delighted to finally converse with an equal. She treated the newer Evangelion as a younger brother despite Yui's remark that since Unit-01's organic body is based on an improved version of Unit-00's, Unit-01 is closer to being an offspring than a sibling. Kaworu noticed Rei flinching when Yui expressed her opinion but said nothing, even though she was dejected for quite a while; he knew something was bothering the girl but decided to wait until she herself decides to share it.

That remark also motivated Kaworu to finally ask Yui the question over how to differentiate between male and female Evangelions aside from peeking under their armor; the woman made an amused face and responded that Evangelions are mono-gendered and lack any kinds of external sexual organs. In fact, the scientists still didn't figure out completely how the relevant biology works; the AIs only assign themselves gender identities because their creators do as well. She then launched into a lengthy monologue of theories about "external aquatic reproduction" and "mutual fertilization" and other various terms he didn't understand but thanked her anyway.

The Angels were surprisingly silent for a while: breaking their usual pattern of attacking in roughly one month intervals, December went by with no alerts at all. Shephard still insisted over maintaining maximum combat readiness and as such, there were tests and drills of all kinds in the facility. Kaworu himself was being kept busy by various training regimes in order to bring his combat abilities to at least an average level; after several weeks of no improvement in firearm handling, his superiors just gave up and assigned him as pointman with the big red spear as his permanent weapon (since it was the only one confirmed to be effective; Yui originally intended to experiment with more but when the first test where Rei broke through Unit-01's defensive screen gave him a splitting headache powerful enough to knock him out, she quickly changed her mind). Kaworu didn't really like the idea and wanted to just pummel any Angel asshole into the ground with bare hands but both of his bosses pulled rank on him. He did get his gratification however when he convinced Adam to not let Yui cut his "hair" on the basis that it would just get in the way; Kaworu personally thought the blonde appendage was really cool.

They wanted him to perform the only thing he's excellent at: keeping the enemy occupied with him instead of Unit-00 which isn't really suited for close combat. Much to everyone's surprise, Rei actually _protested_ at that, voicing her opinion that they should concentrate exclusively on close combat due to the fact that they don't have a single ranged weapon actually capable of damaging an A-1 (the Tau cannon they used against the last one was returned to it's original owners). In truth however, she was afraid she won't be able to fulfill her promise to Kaworu. The boy reassured her that she doesn't have to actively put herself in harm's way; simply shooting anyone trying to sneak up on him is enough. In addition, Shephard's observation that A-1s can't defend themselves from multiple directions at once meant as long as Unit-01 can keep it busy, Unit-00 can probably get in a shot; that calmed down Kaworu somewhat as it meant his sister can contribute to the next battle, something he looked forward to if only to distract the girl away from trying suicide again.

He had no idea how wrong he was.


	2. Chapter 2

_Almost lost this chapter because my laptop's DVD-RAM drive acted up and caused an I/O controller error that froze the entire machine (not the first time either; did that about half a dozen times already). I managed to save in time but the OS was so dead I had to do a cold restart. Whatever._

_Notice ahead of time: the next update might come a bit late because I gotta evict my room for a few days (personal reasons I won't bore you guys with) which means no net access during the day._

_Now this is getting REALLY annoying. The site is randomly truncating punctuation which messes up the fic.  
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><p><em>NagisaShephard Residence, Tokyo-2  
>January 15, 2042<br>0632 hours_

"_Take care of yourself... sweetie..."  
>"...mama?"<em>

The girl came awake with a yelp, instantly shooting to the sitting position. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Asuka quickly shook all thoughts about what she just saw out of her mind. Despite what she told her father, she still had the occasional bad dream about her mother although it wasn't as bad as before.

Slipping out from below the warm covers, the cool morning breeze washed across her bare body and made her shiver. Normally Asuka preferred to sleep in the nude but despite being in a heated building, Earth's winter made her reconsider her choice; she didn't like being restricted by clothing (as well as preferring not to make a mess on her clothes with her... _nightly activities_) but she just might have no choice. She quickly scrambled to put something on, starting with underwear. No matter what others might say, her wardrobe doesn't contain any dresses or skirts; she simply doesn't like them.

She ignored her usual morning care for her hair, instead just tying it into her signature ponytail. What she was about to do WILL mess her hair up enough to warrant her washing it, as she found it out the hard way on the previous occasions. Fortunately (or naturally, if you ask her), that dumb bastard Nagisa didn't notice her more frequent hair care sessions, nor the very faint stench of blood sometimes present in extreme close proximity to her. She found the latter to be highly annoying and repeatedly pestered that scientist chick to change that damn liquid, only to get the same answer every time: because the chemical composition must be exact and since she's breathing it all the time, it wouldn't be a good idea to introduce foreign contaminants that could irritate her lungs or even worse, diffuse into her bloodstream and cause problems from the inside. That also answered Asuka's unsaid question about the need for going through such a rigorous cleaning session before doing what she was asked to do.

Completing her dressing session, Asuka went to her nightstand where she opened the small box storing her contacts. She hated the fact that she had mild hyperopia and found glasses to be too embarrassing to wear outside home so the choice in vision correction gear was obvious. No one ever noticed and she wasn't really keen on telling. Finally, her attention drifted at the roughly fist-sized green stone next to the box and her expression softened. She hung the stone around her neck and raised it to her mouth. – "Big day today, mom. Wish me luck." – she whispered and briefly touched the stone to her lips before letting go and going for the door.

'_Showtime.'_

* * *

><p><em>7 kilometers west from Odawara<br>1014 hours_

„Damn, I know you said we'd fly there but couldn't they have made this a little more comfy?" – complained Kaworu into his headset. His backside was quite stiff from sitting on the metallic seats of their ride, even though Shephard assured him the journey won't be long.

„What the hell for? I'm finally riding on a V-46T! Thanks for bringing me along, man!" – answered Kensuke nigh-deliriously. The craft they were travelling on couldn't really be called a plane; it was a troop transport craft normally used by the Confederate army for ferrying infantry, built for function instead of comfort. Just like the B variant that strips away the cargo bay to make room for a single Durandal, it was based on the G-46 _Buster_ ground attack craft's chassis and retained it's basic shape, the nacelle-mounted VTOL engines on the wingtips that could rotate 120° in either direction and the gimbal turret beneath the cockpit; the similarities however ended there. The V-46T's cargo area was acquired by stripping out the _Buster_'s retractable missile pods that carried the craft's main payload of 72 unguided air-to-ground rockets (with HE or white phosphorus/napalm-B incendiary warheads) and 16 laser-guided folding-fin anti-tank missiles (with HESH or HEAT warheads as the Combine apparently haven't discovered reactive armor yet); this also made both variants light enough to go orbital when empty, something the G-46 couldn't do despite being designed to perform tactical bombing of enemy spacecraft when launched from the Confederate Navy's _Nexus_-class escort carriers. A single _Nexus_ could carry 15 _Buster_s as well as a variety of other craft.

„Yeah, thanks for gettin' us away from school." – added Tōji. – „Why us, though?"

„Of the class, there are only four persons with a sufficiently high security clearance. Six if we consider the pilots." – replied Rei almost inaudibly over the engines' roar. – „In an ordinary situation, mother would not consider involving outsiders in corporate matters; in this case however, she is – to phrase it the way she did – buying your silence."

„That... doesn't sound good." – said Tōji uncomfortably.

„Who cares, man? This is awesome!" – rebutted Kensuke enthusiastically.

„Yo!" – Kaworu called to Shephard who was sitting in the front. – „How long till we get there?"

„Not much." – the man answered.

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><p><em>Twenty minutes later<em>

„THIS IS SO DAMN AWESOME!" – hollered Kensuke excitedly as he spun left and right, trying to film as much of the airbase as he could. Behind him, Shephard just shook his head in amusement.

„Your friend's really having fun, isn't he?" – he asked Kaworu quietly.

„You have no idea, sir." – replied Tōji instead. – „If it's anything military, he's all over it."

„As if the way he's behaving right now wasn't a big clue..."

„Hey, guys! Look!" – yelled Kensuke as he pointed at two sleek craft taxiing toward a runway.

„Uhh... what am I supposed to look at?" – murmured Kaworu uncomprehendingly.

„Those! They're the fleet's newest sixth-generation fighter, the SF-144 _Nova_. Structurally they're based on the Yak-141 _Freestyle_, a canard-delta supersonic fighter designed in the old Soviet Union but despite being single-engine, in terms of performance they eclipse all pre-Impact fighters: it can sustain Mach 1.8 at terrestrial atmospheric pressure and there's no actual service ceiling though it can't go orbital on its own. It incorporates all sorts of modern flight tech: supercruising, thrust vectoring, VTOL, you name it."

„Oh? And pray tell, what do they use them for?" – asked Shephard experimentally.

Kensuke just adjusted his glasses as he switched to 'serious mode'. – „Standard doctrine calls for combat air patrols and deployment against enemy strike craft only in order to achieve space superiority. I heard there's a research project to outfit them with booster packs in order to perform as improvised interceptors at the cost of decreasing maneuverability to the point the fighter is required to go sub-orbital to conserve reaction mass, not to mention that unlike the fifth-generation designs proposed before Second Impact, the sixth generation has no stealth capabilities to speak of due to various reasons, including the fighter being horrendously expensive already and all known radar-absorbent materials being incapable of withstanding reentry heat."

Shephard nodded. – „I see you've done your research, mister Aida."

"Thank you, sir! When I come of age, I wanna join the navy! I mean, the army's cool too with all the battleframes but still, crewing an actual spaceship is just way too cool!"

Shephard shrugged. – "Suit yourself." – He noticed Tōji staring at him expectantly. – "What?"

"I honestly expected you to flip out at that, sir."

"Why would I?" – the man asked confused.

"From what Ken told me, I thought you army guys hate the navy's guts." – the boy explained, only to get an annoyed groan in return.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud... not everyone takes that crap seriously! I for one couldn't care less what the navy does with their fancy flying gear. Anyway, doc's waiting for us in the control tower."

The group went that way next to a hangar where Kaworu saw crates being loaded by personnel wielding the Mark 3 Zero-Point Energy Field Manipulator. Gravity gun technology came a long way since the original prototype's inception during the Uprising; both carrying capacity and operation time was increased significantly. New innovations in materials technology allowed the device to be mass-produced, although commercial versions had their launch capabilities deactivated in order to deny their use as improvised weapons. The technology's apex point was reached in 2025 when Dr. Arne Magnusson had the idea of using the energy field of a device jury-rigged to operate at unsafe power levels instead of a magnetic field to contain increasing amounts of plasma – and was the first to witness an actual nuclear fusion reactor in operation, albeit almost got incinerated when the containment field gave out and all the plasma was released into the surrounding environment. Since then, humanity adopted nuclear fusion into everyday use from civilian power plants in cities to compact military-grade reactors powering the larger starships; as a rule of thumb, an _Ezekiel_-class frigate operates with a single reactor, _Gauntlet_-class destroyers and _Nexus_-class carriers have two while the largest _Titan_-class battlecruisers have four. Waygates usually operate with even more in order to power their high-energy particle accelerators to initiate xenium decay for wormhole formation, with the exception of the Waygate fabricator station that uses enormous solar panels; it's located in low solar orbit especially because the amount of energy required to warp new Waygates into position over interstellar distances can be freely extracted from solar radiation over the course of several years (the actual factory takes up less than 1% of the station while solar cells are about 6%; everything else are batteries) instead of using up the finite D-T fusion fuel supplies.

Not that Kaworu knew anything about this, though. The exact application theory of gravity guns is part of the university physics curriculum which went way above his head. All he knew as he looked at them is a realization: he wanted one. Badly.

* * *

><p>"Just in time." – quipped Yui over her shoulder as the group entered the control tower that was bustling with activity. Aside from air controllers doing their job, there was a corner where several tables were packed full of decidedly not local equipment, as evidenced by the AEL – now NERV – technicians working on it.<p>

"Unit-02 reports all clear, ma'am. The pilot is in position and synched, the AI reports all A-type equipment self-tests as complete." – reported Maya while touching her headset.

"Then we can begin. Gentlemen, I suggest you take positions from where you can observe the test clearly. This equipment hasn't been tested yet but if it works, it will completely supplant B-type equipment in terms of mobility."

A distant rumbling could be heard as Maya signaled with a thumbs-up without turning around. – "Just what is it, exactly?" – asked Kaworu suspiciously

"You'll see." – answered Shephard with a smirk. – "I didn't believe it either when she first told me."

"It's coming." – Yui whispered while looking through the windows. Kaworu looked at her with a questioning expression until the rumbling increased to nearly painful levels as something very big buzzed the tower, shaking it heavily.

"What the heck was that?" – asked Tōji as he got up from the ground after having fallen over. Much to his chagrin, Kensuke wasn't even fazed but instead scrambled to get a better look (Shephard confiscated his camera when they entered).

"That." – said Yui as she pointed at the object which slowed down in mid-air. As Kaworu tried to get a better look, the object suddenly did a backflip and turned around at the same time, revealing its humanoid shape.

"Is that...?"

"It is. Evangelion Test Type Unit-02." – Now the object's identity was clearly that of an Evangelion. Unlike Unit-01 which Kaworu was informed did originally start out as gray and only remained that way because of his request, Unit-02 was colored the most vibrant vermillion. Most of it looked like Unit-01 except for the head. Different from either of its predecessors, Unit-02's mostly round helmet was dominated by a V-shaped double crest starting from the sides of the forehead and extending diagonally up and backwards well behind the head, like a hybrid of horns and massively overgrown eyebrows. _[A/N: look up the Vermillion from RahXephon.]_

What caught Kaworu's attention instantly was the fact that the Evangelion was floating in mid-air with nothing holding it up. He was about to ask how did it do that when he took notice of the two mechanical apparatuses extending from its shoulders that gave the Evangelion a distinct silhouette as if it had folded wings taken straight from Christian frescoes of Angels.

"Why'd you call it 'test type' and not prototype like the others?" – asked Shephard Yui quickly as most of the control tower's staff shot out of their chairs and scrambled to the windows to get a better look, awed whispers filling the room.

"Well, it doesn't really need to be designated as a prototype since both the functional parts and the exterior design is essentially finalized. This one will be the progenitor of the future mass-production models. To put it in another perspective, Unit-00 was only a proof-of-concept model built in order to determine what aspects of research and development require more focus; in other words, what works already and doesn't need redesign. Similarly, Unit-01 was intended to fine-tune the interior design so its parts aren't completely interchangeable with Unit-00's. Neither are Unit-02's with the previous models since its purpose is to be as close to the final design as possible. Her bone structure may not be as tough as Unit-01's but her joints and muscular system enjoy a 36% increase in agility."

"Her?" – asked Kaworu with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. The AI was another one of our experiments to determine whether she can achieve sentience without the amount of socializing the others received. The result was quite..." – the woman paused to search for the most appropriate term – "peculiar. You'll see. Now, though..." – she turned to the still-working technicians. – "Any problems so far?"

"None, ma'am."

"Very well. Begin mobility test."

Outside, the red Evangelion saluted the tower in acknowledgement and launched into a rapid climb until it was only a small shining spot near the cloud layer, a twin trail of condensation following it.

"First phase complete. Acceleration: 8.6 g, rate of climb 30,000 meters per minute."

"Holy shit..." – breathed Kensuke. – "How the hell can something that big move so damn fast?"

"Did you really have to make it stronger than mine?" – complained Kaworu unhappily.

"First, it's the equipment, not the Evangelion. Second, would you mind keeping it down? We're lucky the locals are distracted because that comment would've compromised your identity." – murmured Yui hurriedly.

"Sorry. Can I get one for Unit-01?"

"No. We only have this one for now. Do you remember the combat role assignments from two weeks ago?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm to bust their face in while Rei shoots 'em."

Yui sweatdropped. – "Not the exact wording but that's correct. After matching your ability scores with Unit-02's test pilot, I've made the decision to deploy it in combat immediately as a skirmisher."

"Skirmisher?"

"Highly mobile combatant using distruption tactics, mainly hit-and-run flanking attacks." – piped in Kensuke, causing Yui to finally notice his presence. – "It's practically the same role Durandals perform on wide-open terrain with little cover: they lack the protection to withstand heavy ordnance so instead they present a harder target to hit. When the Gugnirs arrive to bring their heavy weapons to bear, the Durandals will start harassing the enemy to keep them from returning fire effectively."

"There he goes again..." – groaned Touji to Shephard who just shook his head, amused.

"What's your name, young man?"

"Uh... Kensuke Aida, ma'am!"

"It looks like mister Nagisa has some interesting friends..." – When she saw Kensuke's eyes light up, Yui quickly interrupted him. – "I see you are rather interested in military matters but make no mistake: I expect you to keep whatever you see here to yourself. I have connections at the highest levels and I _don't_ want to waste Section 2's time with plugging up security leaks, do I make myself clear?"

"Y-y-y-yes, ma'am...!" – stammered Kensuke in fright. Here he was, believing he finally got his chance of worming his way into one of those giant mechas, only to get shot down before he even started. Life was cruel.

"Let's continue this discussion later. Maya, start second phase."

"Yes, ma'am."

Unit-02 shot off into the distance, only to shoot across the sky a minute later with a cloud of condensation enveloping it.

"Second phase complete. Measured vertical speed: Mach 0.95."

"It can go transsonic?" – asked Shephard surprised.

"Indeed." – affirmed Yui. – "No matter how hard we try, an Evangelion is simply not aerodynamic enough to break the sound barrier and there's obviously no wind tunnel large enough to experiment."

"What about spaceflight?"

Yui shook her head. – "Not a chance, the engines don't have enough power to break orbit. Even though A-type equipment only has light armor, it's simply too much weight."

"Suborbital?"

"I doubt it. We haven't tried this equipment before but the chief engineer sent a message saying it probably won't work."

"You didn't make it?" – asked Kensuke.

Yui was about to shoot him down again when Shephard saved the situation. – "I don't think there's any harm in telling him that." – He turned to the boy. – "Auxiliary equipment like this is ordered from Gehirn. Basically, we give them the specifications and they build what we asked for. Everything under the armor is ours so don't even think about asking anything regarding that."

"Maya, release test drones and commence third phase."

"Yes, ma'am. Unit-02 is currently moving into position to commence test run."

Down on one of the runways, several remote-controlled UAVs were released into the air to commence mock attack runs. The Evangelion responded with a series of flips and barrelrolls, drawing loud applause from the watching aircrews who recognized evasive action.

"Uhh... what are we supposed to see here?" – asked Kaworu confused.

"Nothing. Infrared laser painters operate on electromagnetic wavelengths invisible to the human eye." – replied Rei who so far kept to herself, silently observing the tests.

"Correct. This test is supposed to determine the A-type equipment's maneuverability by evading simulated enemy attacks." – added Yui as she checked the telemetry readouts.

"Third phase complete. The results are here." – announced Maya who disconnected a tablet connected to her terminal and offered it to Yui who ran through it before nodding with a pleased expression.

"Excellent. The equipment is fulfilling all expectations. Maya, order Unit-02 to head to the hangar and touch down."

While the tech went on to fulfill the order, Kaworu asked Shephard – "What hangar?"

"We borrowed one to put some stuff in. The locals weren't too happy about it but when you have presidential authorization, all they can do is suck it up and bear with it." – the man added with a grin. – "God, I love this job!"

* * *

><p>"Oh man, this is awesome!" – yelled Kensuke as he finally got a close look at Unit-02's form hunched over on one knee. Kaworu couldn't help but compare it to Unit-01. From up close, he realized it had narrower shoulders, a shorter neck and an overall leaner figure, mostly due to the armor: instead of the blocky, somewhat salient plates of B-type equipment he used so far, A-type equipment had flat, aerodynamic panels that fitted together like pieces of a mosaic. All of it gave the Evangelion an appearance more graceful, more... <em>elegant<em>. Aside from the shoulder attachments, he noticed a pair of thrusters attached to the reactor housing, probably what made it fly. Two pairs of green slits sat under the crests, signaling the new model had four eyes.

All of his further observations were derailed when the head tilted forward as the entry plug ejected when a crane-like scaffold extended over the Evangelion. The end of it was clad in tarpaulin so while he saw a figure in a red plugsuit exit, he couldn't see the face.

When he later thought back to the moment he did, sometimes he wished he didn't.

"Come down here, we got some people we'd like you to meet." – called Shephard to the pilot who didn't reply but proceeded to jog down the stairs.

When the pilot finally rounded the last level, Kaworu got an almost irresistible urge to beat his own head into the ground until he passed out in order to remove the annoyance he felt.

"Ta-daa!" – grinned a plugsuited Asuka from the top of the stairs. Her expression instantly faded when he saw the boy. – "What the HELL is he doing here?" – she screeched as she pointed accusingly at Kaworu.

"Suddenly... I don't envy you any more, dude." – groaned Kensuke.

"No kidding." – added Tōji.

* * *

><p>"This is a joke, right?" – demanded Asuka in a serious tone as she leaned over the table at her father.<p>

"No, it is not a joke. Kaworu Nagisa is the pilot of Evangelion Prototype Unit-01." – answered Yui instead.

"Yeah, right... then answer this: provided I believe for a moment that he's really a pilot – which I don't –, why are these three" – Asuka swept her head in the general direction of Tōji, Kensuke and Reid – "here?"

"The boys are only visitors." – replied Shephard. – "Call it generosity."

"And her? Are you holding Bring-Your-Daughter-To-Work Days too?"

"Incorrect." – replied Rei. – "I am the designated pilot of Evangelion Prototype Unit-00."

"Oh, really?" – challenged Asuka, to which the other girl nodded. Asuka shook her head in disbelief. – "Sheesh, talk about preferential treatment..."

"That is not the case."

"Right, right... so what do you want to tell me?"

Shephard tensed up. – "Oh, yeah. Aida and Suzuhara, out."

"But-"

"This is classified stuff so go outside! You can come back in later but for now, out. And no eavesdropping or we're gonna have a problem!"

Tōji decided it was time to do what they were told to. – "Yes, sir!" – He grabbed Kensuke by the scruff of his coat and dragged the protesting boy out.

Shephard got up and made sure they really weren't listening in before sitting back to the table. – "Alright, doc's gonna tell you some things so listen well. And none of it leaves this room, got it?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Doc, your turn."

"Miss Shephard, what do you know of the recent attacks on the city?" – asked Yui first.

The girl scratched her head. – "Not much, only what they tell in the news."

"Not counting the incident you yourself participated in, of course." – At the first sign of the girl trying to protest, Yui cut in. – "Don't try to deny it, I know you piloted the red Durandal that assisted Unit-01 in its maiden battle."

Kaworu jumped out of his chair in surprise. – "That was you?"

"Whoever piloted that thing is so lame I hardly kept myself from rolling on the floor laughing at the sight of it."

Kaworu instantly stepped onto the table with enough force to make a dangerous cracking sound. – "_**EXCUSE ME?**_" – he screamed in rage, not noticing Rei's warning glare to watch his strength or he might break the table.

"Why the hell are you yelling at me for?"

"That's **MY** Evangelion you're thrash-talking about!"

"Oh, puh-_lease_... you can't seriously expect me to believe that crap! No sane person in the world would put you into those things!"

"_Would both of you be silent?_" – interrupted Yui angrily. – "Let's continue. These incidents have been reported to the public as no cause for panic. The truth is much more serious. No one wants to admit it but humanity is under attack."

"Under attack? By whom? Is it the Combine?"

"No. These alien entities are like nothing we have ever seen before. Origin unknown, objectives unknown; none of the ones we've seen so far were alike but they do share the same energy signature."

"And you know this because...?"

"Over a month ago the Artificial Evolution Laboratory was contracted by the Confederate Armed Forces to deploy the experimental Evangelion-class Synthetic Humanoid Lifeform against this new threat. These entities – internal designation A-1, reporting name 'Angel' – possess offensive and defensive capabilities that more than match all current weapon systems in use by the CAF. The Confederate leadership is understandably reluctant to authorize the deployment of nuclear weapons and therefore decided to resort to unconventional weapons. In return for our cooperation, Project Evangelion receives the highest priority when it comes to funding and R&D efforts. That is the reason why you were able to test Unit-02 today, as without support the unit would not have been complete for at least five months."

"Ooookay... how does this concern me?" – asked Asuka confused, not understanding anything.

Yui made a thin smile. – "I am about to mention that. As you know, Unit-02 is our newest prototype. The Project is not yet ready for mass-production so we are quite short on actual combat capabilities. So far, all three Angels that arrived into the city were neutralized by the two older prototypes, Unit-00 and Unit-01. Your testing of Unit-02 convinced me of your capabilities, which means... I believe you are ready."

"Ready for what?"

"In order to maximize our combat strength, I wish to deploy Unit-02 in the next engagement. But as of now, you are the only person qualified to pilot it and training another would take months. You also have combat training which means you can be deployed immediately."

The girl's eyes bugged out. – "Wait a second, you want me to-"

"Participate in the city's defense as the third pilot, yes. I tell you this right away: it IS dangerous. Despite Evangelions being technically the safest weapon system in the world, both of our current pilots have been hospitalized at least once; mister Nagisa here almost succumbed to injuries sustained during the last engagement. As such, it is strictly _volunteers only_. I leave the decision in your hands." – The woman then stood up, gathering her tablet. – "I have to run a few additional tests with Unit-02; you have an hour to decide. I assure you: no one will think any less of you if you want out."

* * *

><p>"I know this is quite sudden, Asuka. But what she said was true: it's your decision." – offered Shephard as the two were idly gazing out a window, across the airfield. Outside, it started snowing again and several snowblowers rolled out to keep the runways clear.<p>

"Sudden... yeah." – the girl whispered as she was leaning over the railing in front of the sloped glass. She remembered back to that day when she first met Yui; she only agreed to her request of doing '_comparative studies_' because it caught her curiosity. Then came the staggering realization at seeing an Evangelion that the scientist really meant it: she had never in her life seen or heard anything like it. The surprise of her first synchronization and Yui's briefing on its systems; a battleframe that literally reads her mind and does _exactly_ what she wants and how she wants it, nothing more or less – it was way beyond brilliant. It was downright awesome.

Part of her was overjoyed that there came an opportunity to continue riding this wonderful meld of flesh and machine. Part of her was shocked at how high the stakes suddenly become. And _that_ part of her wanted to do what she felt was right.

_That_ part. The one that guided her throughout life.

After she lost her mother, Asuka shut herself off from the world. But seeing her father's grief, she realized that her pain doesn't have to be her own. Sharing that pain made it that more bearable, allowing her to focus on the real truths in life. And she knew who she could share that with.

_That_ part. The part that connected Asuka to her mother.

In her time of need, her father was there for her. He was always there for her. And Asuka really appreciated that. But just as it happened with her mother, there might come a time he would not be there to protect her from harm. She would grow up eventually and have to look after herself. So Asuka decided to take care of herself ahead of time.

_Memento mori_. Remember your mortality.

She learned how to fight. She learned how to shoot. She learned how to pilot a battleframe. Soon there came the point where not only she was prepared, she was ready to protect her father instead of the other way around. After all, he was the only family she had left. And Asuka sure as hell wasn't going to lose him too.

Her mother died to protect her.

And Asuka Langley Shephard wasn't going to squander that sacrifice.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Shephard's communicator bleeped. The man stepped away and raised the small device to his ear. – "Go ahead... what?... Crap, another one?" – That got Asuka's attention as well. – "Well, both of our pilots are here, we can't sortie right now!... Whatever, I'm on my way." – He put the device away and turned to Asuka. – "Something came up, kiddo. I gotta go to the control tower. Don't go anywhere, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah." – she waved dismissively but her brain was in overdrive. _'They have one of those Angel things nearby? He said they can't do anything right now...'_ She watched as her father ran to Nagisa and his friends; they exchanged a few words then all four left.

"Great... what am I going to do now?" – Asuka murmured to herself as she drew the coat around herself tighter. She was still in her plugsuit which she had conflicted feelings about; on one hand, it was quite comfortable and never got in the way unlike the bulky G-suits used by Durandal pilots but on the other hand, she believed whoever designed something this body-hugging is either a pervert or has a fetish of it. Though the parts over her breasts was a bit thicker to avoid embarrassment (and with good reason, as she felt the cold air provoking a certain reaction from a certain part of them), the rest was surprisingly thin. Asuka was a healthy teenage girl with a healthy but somewhat... perverted mindset that instinctively made her think of the material's possible resistance against touch. She had no opportunity to try it so far but in the future, that was something she hoped for.

With nothing to do, she leisurely walked back to the hangar where Unit-02 was still in the half-kneeling position. There was no one in the hangar although all entrances were either locked or guarded. As she mulled over this, she suddenly had a crazy idea. She initially dismissed it but when she looked at what was on the rack unit near a wall, a wicked smile ran across her face.

'_If that's what I think it is... oh. Hell. __**YES**__.'_

* * *

><p>"Where is that sucker?" – asked Kaworu enthusiastically as the group entered the control tower.<p>

Yui turned away from the NERV group's consoles to face them. – "A civilian fishing ship's sonar detected it entering Sagami Bay. It appears to move underwater most of the time, periodically surfacing presumably for air."

"You sure it's not a whale or something?"

"If it was a whale, the leeches would've stripped it down to the bone already – if there were any leeches at this time of the year, naturally. Also, I've asked the crew back at home to turn the gravimetric sensors this way; it has an A-1 signature."

Shephard groaned. – "Great... what are we going to do now? Both of our pilots are kilometers away from their Evangelions."

"I'll do it." – spoke up Kaworu. – "No matter if that thing tries to hide beneath the waves, it can't escape MY sight! Let me go out in Unit-02; it can't be that different from mine."

"That won't work." – replied Yui dismissively.

"Why not?"

"Synchro-adaptation." – whispered Rei, to which her mother nodded.

"What's that?"

"Synchronization works both ways: not only the pilot synchronizes to the Evangelion but the Evangelion also synchronizes with the pilot. Eventually, the areas of the pilot's brain involved in the synchronization process gain a certain affinity towards that particular Evangelion which increases the efficiency of the process, manifesting in a higher synchronization ratio. However, this affinity negatively affects the pilot's ability to synchronize with any other Evangelion. We theorize that eventually, the pilot loses synchronization capability with other Evangelions at the expense of becoming very, _very_ good at synching with his or her own."

"Bottom line?" – asked Shephard who by now had _really_ had enough of her scientific explanation.

"The more time he spends in Unit-01, the less capable he becomes with any other Evangelion until he can't pilot anything but Unit-01. This applies to everyone."

"Isn't there a way around this? I mean, to remove this effect?"

"There is, but it essentially means lobotomizing the Evangelions. Instead of cooperation, the pilot forcibly synchronizes with an Evangelion and essentially becomes a parasite. We have considered that possibility when the Project began but discarded it when we realized an AI upload is more efficient."

"Right... so you're saying we can't use Unit-02." – The woman nodded.

"Damn." – Kaworu swore. Rei just looked on silently.

Suddenly, Maya called out. – "Doctor, Unit-02 just activated!"

"Say WHAT?" – The scientist rushed to the technician, albeit it was unnecessary; seconds later, all of them saw Unit-02 taking off and heading towards the water.

"What the hell is that girl doing?" – raged Shephard.

"Oh my God... she's taken the beam rifle, she's going to fight the Angel herself!" – whispered Maya in panic.

Both Kaworu and Kensuke's heads perked up at that. – "Beam rifle?"

"A little something we wanted to test out today. It's an experimental particle beam carbine built specifically for use by Evangelions." – explained Shephard before he turned to Rei. – "It's kinda like the Tau cannon you used last time, only smaller and more compact. Has a Tau particle beam accelerator in the terawatt range or something like that as well as an underslung plasma blast cannon for destabilizing A-1 defensive screens. The engineers said the thing can do a 'combination attack' or something like that to wreak some major havoc as well as a little extra for close combat."

"Sounds nice..." – remarked Kaworu. – "Can I get one?"

"Of course; it'll be your standard issue armament from now on." – He turned to Rei again. – "It doesn't have as much penetration power but it's much more accurate than bullets. It's affected by the Earth's magnetic field but not by gravity or wind since the projectile isn't solid. Just do the same you do when sniping but watch for overpenetration - the debris field of that pre-Impact satellite you hit with that super-cannon you fired against the last A-1 forced the navy to divert a frigate to keep the pieces away from used orbits. Oh, and while this thing can fire on full-auto, it can do charged single shots too but has one hell of a recoil. Nothing on the scale of a _Donnerlanze_ but thought you should know."

The girl nodded. – "Understood. What is this 'combination attack' you speak of?"

Yui waved over her shoulder to signify she's going to answer that, which she did a few moments later when she finished giving instructions to Maya. – "According to the designer's notes, the exotic matter the plasma blast cannon's projectiles are composed of have been discovered to have an adverse effect upon being bombarded by high-energy particles. Specifically, the exotic matter partially transmutes itself into antimatter. Upon physical contact with normal matter – that happens in less than a microsecond -, the two violently annihilate each other in an exothermic reaction that rivals tactical nuclear warheads."

"Sweet!" – grinned Kaworu.

"Awesome..." – breathed Kensuke.

"Care must be taken however. First, while the attack's effectiveness depends on the local density of matter – it will not work in vacuum –, in atmosphere the blast radius is very large. Collateral damage is a real issue – don't you try using it within the city or YOU will pay for the repairs. Second, the matter-antimatter reaction produces a small-scale gamma-ray burst which means any proximate matter will undergo a short but intense period of irradiation. Third, even if that matter isn't living tissue and therefore not adversely affected by radiation, the detonation releases a small electromagnetic pulse as well."

"Uh... doc?"

"What is it?"

"You _do_ realize that there's one thing this has in common with nukes, right?"

"What?"

"Anything that's close enough to be affected by the EMP is also close enough to be completely vaporized by the detonation shockwave."

"That might not be the case." – spoke up Rei. – "In the even the detonation happens in the upper atmosphere, as a result of interactions with the Earth's natural magnetic field the pulse is orders of magnitude more powerful but not radial."

Yui sighed. – "That's not the point..."

"Uh... excuse me..." – spoke up Tōji who was quiet the entire time. – "but... aren't we supposed to pay attention to that Evangelion thingy?"

Everyone looked together and had the same thought. _'Shit.'_

* * *

><p><em>[BGM: Acoustitracks - The System]<em>

Inside the entry plug, Asuka was having the time of her life. – "Alright... time to show everyone what we're made of. Right, Sekhmet?"

"**Whatever.**" – the AI grumbled.

"What's the matter? Aren't you bored?"

"**Very. How can you not be bored when all you have to do is doing tests, tests and more tests all day?**"

"Then how about kicking some ass instead?"

"**...now THAT's what I'm talking about! You're having the right attitude, girl!**"

"Now that's out of the way, let's get going!" – declared Asuka as she started sweeping the bay for any threats. Despite her – aside from the contacts – excellent eyesight, she failed to acquire her target. The thin sheet of ice formed over the ocean wasn't helping either. – "Where _is_ that thing?" – she growled after three minutes. – "Sekhmet, do you have any kinds of detection equipment?"

"**Radar, lidar and infrared. These good enough for you?**"

"Did you find anything?"

"**No. That bloated piece of meat is hiding from me... and for good reason.**"

"Keep an eye out. It can't be that-"

"**BELOW YOU!**" – bellowed the AI and Asuka reflexively pulled to the side, just in time to avoid getting munched on by a pair of massive toothy jaws that exploded from the ice beneath her.

"Sneaky bastard, it was hiding under the ice sheet!" – her realization was cut short however when Gaghiel stuck its head out to the surface with maw wide open. Asuka distantly saw a red glint in its throat before the creature regurgitated a small orb of... _something_ and spat it at her with surprising force. She barely managed to dodge it when the orb exploded in mid-air less than a dozen meters behind her, sending a sudden wave of coldness over her that made her involuntarily shiver. – "What the hell was that?"

"**Analyzing... it's some kind of thermal shock bomb; temperature of the surrounding air has dropped significantly. If that would've been a direct hit, you'd be out cold right now from hypothermia.**" – The AI paused for a few moments. – "**That's not all: I detect a layer of ice about two centimeters thick covering most of my back, including the entry plug hatch. Like it or not, we're stuck together for the time being unless someone brings a flamethrower over here.**"

"So it's trying to take me alive, eh?" – Asuka murmured as she looked at the enormous teeth. – "Thing is, I'm not really keen on being anyone's lunch. Now it's my turn, asshole!" – She took aim with the rifle she borrowed from the hangar and commanded Unit-02 to pull the trigger.

With an electric sizzling sound, the rifle started spitting orange particle beams at full auto, straight at the creature. Gaghiel screeched at the pain of the beams penetrating straight through its fleshy body and quickly dove beneath the surface.

"Shit, I lost it!" – swore Asuka as she stared at the hole in the ice. She saw faint glimpses of her target beneath the ice that suggested the fish-creature was circling beneath. – "Expecting me to follow you in, eh? Do you really think humans are that stupid?"

Her answer was to work the pump-action of the underslung cannon and press one of the triggers on the side of the weapon. It gave a rising-pitch whine then a human-sized ball of dark plasma shot out of the barrel and toward the leak, drawing a thick trail of steam after it from melted and flash-boiled snowflakes. Upon touching the water, the plasma ball's heat was transferred to the environment, instantly vaporizing a perfect circle of ice with a radius of roughly two hundred meters.

Gaghiel was caught completely unaware of its cover disappearing and learned its lesson the hard way when Asuka immediately drew a bead on him and let loose another burst that forced it to flee. This time however, both the girl and the Eva were _pissed_.

"**You're not getting away that easily!**" – taunted Sekhmet as Asuka gunned the rear thrusters to maximum output, giving chase to the Angel while firing. Gaghiel's evasive weaving left and right only helped avoid direct hits but the misses were _near_ misses.

Eventually, Gaghiel realized the futility of its actions and dove into the depths. Asuka quickly fired the retro-thrusters and jumped Unit-02 into a spread-eagled position to maximize air drag. Still, it was very close; the Evangelion's face, chest and feet were less than a meter from the water when it finally started rising.

Inside the entry plug, Asuka was quite a bit stressed. If she were to have short hair, it would more likely than not stand on its end. – "Holy... let's NOT do that again!"

"**Damn pussy...**" – grumbled Sekhmet but further protests were interrupted when a communication window opened on the entry plug's wall.

"_Asuka, do you hear me?_" – came Shephard's voice and face.

"I'm here, dad."

"_What's your status?_"

"I shot this thing about a dozen times but it's still moving. Right now it's so far underwater I can't see it."

"_How does it look like?_"

"Some kind of big fish thing, doesn't seem to be amphibious."

"_So as long as you stay outside the water, you're fine?_"

"**Not exactly.**" – butted in Sekhmet. – "**It appears to have some kind of biological stunning weapon it can fire at long ranges. Not that it did much...**"

The man sighed. – "_Understood. I'll try to come up with something over here._"

Further conversation was impossible as Gaghiel exploded out of the water again, intent on pulling Unit-02 down. Asuka was too late to dodge and the Angel's maw enveloped one of the Evangelion's legs. – "Son of a...!" – she swore in pain and looked at her rifle. She noticed a third button she hadn't pressed so far. _'Hope this'll work...'_ She pressed it and the housing on the bottom of the weapon below the plasma cannon retracted, revealing a segmented metallic chain with small, razor-sharp blades sticking out of it. – "Jackpot... EAT THIS, ASSHOLE!" – Asuka screamed and revved up the chainsaw bayonet, driving it deep into Gaghiel's flesh.

The effect was immediate. The Angel instantly let go with an inhuman screech, ripping the chainsaw out of itself as it dove back underwater, trailing blood after it.

"**RRAHHHAHAHAHAHA! That's how I like things!**" – cackled Sekhmet in glee as blood dripped from her armor into the ocean. Asuka ignored her and focused on getting higher.

"This is getting nowhere... if I go high, I can't see it but if I go low, it'll catch me and pull me under! It's like fishing in reverse!" – the girl complained.

"_Fishing...?_" – Shephard murmured. – "_That's right, fishing!_"

"What?" – asked Asuka, confused.

"_I got an idea which will probably work. Come back here, I'll arrange for something._"

"Got it."

* * *

><p>"This is it!" – yelled Shephard as he gesticulated at the man-sized cylinder next to him.<p>

"_What, exactly?_" – asked Asuka from inside Unit-02 as she watched her coated father.

"Something navy weapons research come up with! It's an experimental high-yield non-nuclear incendiary bomb! Has about the same boom but none of the radiation! Throw this into the water, shoot it from VERY far away and watch the fireworks!"

"_But that thing is underwater! How will that work?_"

"The underwater blast wave will force it to surface so that you can finish the job! But be careful: this thing has one hell of a big bang and the payload is extremely corrosive!"

Unit-02 carefully slugged the bomb under its armpit and prepared to take off again. – "_You sure it'll work?_"

"I have no better idea at the moment so this is all we have! Make it count!"

* * *

><p><em>[BGM: Gurren Lagann OST - Spinning, Spinning, Spinning, Spiii!]<em>

"Alright... let's do this!" – declared Asuka confidently but inside, she was a bit on edge about the claimed power of the device she clutched in one hand. She _really_ didn't want it to go off prematurely.

"**This is an interesting weapon: big and destructive. I like it.**" – murmured Sekhmet in approval. – "**It is an adequate way to worship the glorious name of Khorne!**"

Asuka frowned. – "What the hell are you talking about?"

"**I am, after all, a weapon of war. My purpose is to kill and destroy. Since I neither can nor want to change that, I might as well have fun while doing what I'm supposed to do, don't you agree?**"

"...you're a weirdo."

The AI scoffed. – "**I think you're a coward for NOT embracing the bliss of oblivion that frees you of all your doubts and fears!**"

"S-shut the hell up! You're creeping me out!" – yelled Asuka in not-so-covert-anymore fright.

"**Like I said, you're a coward.**"

"A...anyway, where's that thing?"

As if on cue, Gaghiel surfaced and spat five thermal shock bombs at Unit-02 in rapid succession. Asuka drove the Evangelion into a series of barrelrolls, deftly avoiding them due to the much longer distance giving her more warning this time. – "I'm really starting to have enough of this guy! Sekhmet, you ready?"

"**You need to ask? I was born ready for this!**" – declared the AI with exhilaration.

"Then let's do it! Alright, you fish bastard..." – Unit-02 took the bomb in its right hand. – "HERE, CATCH!" – Asuka screamed as she commanded the Evangelion to spin around and let go of the weapon.

As soon as it was away, she immediately reached for her rifle and took aim at the spinning bomb. – "Sekhmet, switch weapon mode!"

The response came in the form of the light on the rifle's side changing from green to red as she depressed the trigger and held it down. The weapon started a low hum continuously rising in pitch while the capacitors located directly behind the grip started spinning in their transparent housing. _[A/N: it resembles a Pancor Jackhammer in shape; the capacitors are where the Jackhammer's drum magazine is.]_

"**Ballistic calculations complete. We're within the blast radius.**" – Sekhmet reported, prompting Asuka to start flying backwards and away from the not-so-little package of death.

"When is it going to splash down?"

"**Five seconds. Four... Three... Two... One..."**

"NOW!" – yelled Asuka and she let go of the trigger just as the bomb crashed into the water.

To far-away observation, all that could be seen was a thin bolt of orange light shooting away from the small red dot of Unit-02 just below the cloud layer towards the water where in less that a millisecond, a miniature sun came into existence. The bomb which the beam impaled faster than any bullet could suddenly gained two holes through which seawater flowed in, interacting with the payload. The payload itself was two of the most dangerous chemicals known to human science.

Dioxygen difluoride and chlorine trifluoride.

Both extreme hypergolic with nearly every material, including water.

As well as the primer charge: tetrafluorohydrazine.

The effect was one that could put any kind of cinematic special effects to shame. An absolutely gigantic plume of flame and steam shot skyward while every single bit of ice evaporated in a six kilometer radius, their former location quickly getting shaken up by a miniature tsunami created by the detonation shockwave. An earth-shakingly loud _**BOOM**_ sounded across the entire bay, clearly audible even in the abandoned remains of Old Tokyo over forty kilometers away. At ground zero, a roaring firestorm burned across the ocean's surface, belching highly toxic fumes into the air way too corrosive for even HEV suits to withstand. And not a small amount either; we're talking about hundreds of cubic meters per second.

As for Asuka, she was currently busy trying to stabilize Unit-02 which was flung away like a toy by the shockwave.

"WhoAoAoAoAoAoAwe're gonna crash at this rate!"

"**Not on my watch – firing counter-thrusters!**" – All of the A-type equipment's maneuvering thrusters fired in the direction towards the spin, slowing the Evangelion until it was simply falling upside down. Asuka deftly flipped it over and fired the main thrusters, stopping the fall in mid-air. However, the thrusters started sputtering and flickering.

"That doesn't sound good."

Sekhmet sighed. – "**Aren't you the master of the obvious, girl... Thrusters were damaged in the explosion and are about to fail.**"

"We gotta hurry." – With that, Asuka quickly gunned to maximum output and launched off towards the Angel's former position. They didn't have to go far: Gaghiel was floating on the surface, clearly dazzled by the explosion so heavily it was paying no heed to the flames charring its skin. – "There it is!" – The malfunctioning thrusters chose that moment to finally give out. – "Shit, not now!" – Asuka swore as the laws of ballistics took over and Unit-02's forward-oriented flight steadily went into a falling one.

"**I told you we were too close but did you listen? Nooooo, let's all ignore the big red mother and hope she won't like your taste... moron.**"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP? I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE HERE!" – screamed Asuka as she extended Unit-02's arms to the sides in an attempt to affect their plunge before they reach terminal velocity.

"**What are you doing? We won't make it anyway, thanks to your idiocy.**" – snorted the AI derisively.

"We'll make it just fine!" – declared Asuka as she glared forward, trying to eyeball their trajectory.

"**That I gotta see.**"

A smirk appeared on Asuka's face. – "You will." – she breathed as she prepared for impact. _'I'll show them... I'll show them I can do this! I'll show them I can be trusted with Earth's defense! I'll be the best! For myself... and for you, mama...'_ the girl thought as one hand went to her cleavage and touched the hard bulge under her plugsuit before it shot back to the control handle. She was too focused to notice the faint green glow emanating from the bulge.

The red Evangelion finally landed, precisely on Gaghiel's body. Asuka immediately activated the bayonet. – "I told you we'd make it... now, how do I kill this thing?"

"**All previous ones had a red core structure in their body. Destroying the core is an instant kill.**"

"Alright then..." – Asuka remembered the red glint she saw before the Angel spat out the first shock bomb. – "I have an idea where it might be." – She revved up the bayonet and drew it into the Angel's head. Gaghiel was still too dazzled to realize what was happening but it felt the pain and started thrashing, almost throwing the Evangelion into the water. – "Stay still, you bastard!" – Asuka growled as she kept cutting and cutting, having to stop a few times when particularly vigorous shocks almost made her slip.

Her efforts were crowned by the Angel's severed upper jaw falling into the water. Among the freely gushing blood, Asuka spotted her target. – "GOTCHA!" – she screamed as she revved the bayonet one final time and drove it into the core, invoking a shrill screech and an even bigger fountain of blood.

Sekhmet's reaction simply couldn't be ignored. – "**AHHAHAHAHAHA! YES, YES, YES, YES! MORE BLOOD **_**FOR THE BLOOOOOD GOOOOOD!**_"

Now Asuka was truly freaked out by the AI's behavior. Her train of thought was derailed however when the dead Angel started listing to the side. Despite her best attempt at stabilizing, it finally flipped over and dumped Unit-02 into the icy ocean.

"Shit! Now how are we gonna get out of here?"

"**Don't fret, I'm amphibious. Just walk to the shore when we reach the bottom.**"

"You sure?"

"**Yes. You're lucky I'm not wearing B-type equipment or I'd be too heavy to do anything other than lie on the seafloor.**"

"Right." – the girl said as she waited to finish diving. – "Just hope we get out of here quickly – I'm freezing." – she complained as a shiver ran through her.

"**You could always dump the backpack to move faster, you know.**" – offered Sekhmet.

"Sounds tempting but I'll pass. I've known doctor Ikari for a month and I get the impression she'd not appreciate if I dumped a prototype to save myself."

* * *

><p>"Unit-02's telemetry received. It's currently underwater and is approaching the shore." – reported Maya relieved.<p>

Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief although Yui's was more for the Evangelion than the pilot. – "Thank God..." – whispered Shephard. He was worried sick that he'd lost the only precious thing left in the world for him, as well as being wracked with guilt for actually considering this. He remembered the day when Yui told him she wanted to recruit Asuka and it would be a massive understatement to say her office was loud for the next hour. By the end, he screamed himself hoarse and saw that she was seriously considering calling in security – for a good reason: he had his sidearm drawn, safety off. And he wasn't bluffing at all; he really was considering shooting her then and there. What made him reconsider was reason: if he shoots her and gets court-martialed, Asuka will most likely be abandoned. Despite the fact she had barely made fourteen the previous week, he knew she wasn't ready yet to live on her own – and no, living with another teenager (and a _boy_ at that) wasn't an alternative either. For some reason, telling her this apparently made the scientist remember something too as she backed down almost immediately. Finally, the two agreed to let Asuka decide.

"Huh... that wasn't bad at all." – murmured Kaworu to himself.

'_Looks like you just got a new companion.'_ pointed out Tabris. _'She appears to be a skilled fighter and will come in handy. It won't be long before the real challenge begins.'_

"Just tell me one thing, colonel." – Yui slowly turned to Shephard. – "What kind of fishing was that...?"

The man grinned. – "Dynamite fishing! Though we're lucky the wind is blowing _away_ from the shore - that cloud looks _really_ nasty."


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry for the long wait, next chapter's here._

_About what I said in the last chapter: I did some head calculations and I cranked out about 2k-3k words per chapter in the previous season, with one chapter per week. If I do what I said and write 10k word chapters, I wouldn't be able to do even MONTHLY updates. Especially since school time will begin soon and not only I won't have time to write, I dunno if the dorms even have internet access._

* * *

><p><em>NagisaShephard residence, Tokyo-2  
>1846 hours<em>

"We're back" – called Shephard as he closed the door after Asuka.

"What took you guys so long?" – complained Kaworu.

"I had to take Unit-02 back into the cage and sit through a shitload of tests to make sure it wasn't damaged." – moaned Asuka as she collapsed onto a chair. – "What a waste of my time..."

"This job's not as easy as you thought, huh?" – chuckled Shephard.

"Saving the world's not for the faint-hearted, babe." – butted in Kaworu. – "You sure you can do this?"

"Stow it, Nagisa." – the girl snapped back irritated. – "I'm not in the mood for your bullshit. I don't know how you got you and your stupid friends into the test but I don't care."

Kaworu groaned. – "When are you going to believe I'm Unit-01's pilot?"

""Oh, I don't know. Maybe... never?"

"And to think **you're** the one calling **me** an idiot... smooth, babe. Very smooth."

"What was that?" – she asked in a dangerous tone.

Kaworu smirked and was about to let loose a piercing insult when he was interrupted. – "Guys, guys!" – warned Shephard as he stepped between the two. – "I said it before, no killing each other in the house. Nagisa, find something better to do than thrash-talking my girl. Asuka, I got you a little reading material." – he said as he held up a flash drive.

The girl sighed. – "I'll read it later. I gotta wash my hair first."

"Again? You're _always_ washing your hair!" – growled Kaworu in annoyance.

"Well, _excuse me_! Do you have _any_ idea how much care long hair needs? This LCL stuff is completely ruining it!" – Asuka complained as she went for the bathroom. _[A/N: I'm not making this up, even mere chlorinated water kills any and all kinds of hairdo; just a thirty minute dip makes long hair look like it wasn't washed for over a month. Believe me, I know.]_

* * *

><p>'<em>Daaamn, this thing sticks like glue!'<em> groaned Asuka in her head as she sat on her bed rubbing her blond mane with a towel. After nearly an hour of intense washing, that damn chemical finally decided to let go of her hair.

Her eyes fell on the flash drive her father offered her. _'Ah, what the hell... let's see what the old man got me.'_ She snatched the small object and turned on her school-issued (there'd be hardly any way to get one otherwise, Second Impact having killed off consumerism pretty much completely) tablet. While she waited for the device to boot up, she kept drying her hair.

Finally, she slotted the device into the tablet and scrolled over the contents. – "Huh... battle data, tactical assignments, personnel roster... this stuff really is useful." – She went to the first section which was labeled "Battle Reports". – "My battle's not up yet? Cheapskates... alright, in order." – She opened the first entry.

**ENGAGEMENT No.01 – CONFIDENTIAL**

**COMBATANTS: UNIT-00 – A-1-1**

**TIMESCALE**

**1045: A-1 DETECTED BY ORBITAL SURVEILLANCE  
>1048: A-1 CONFIRMED TO BE HEADING TOWARDS TOKYO-2<br>1105: GENERAL CIVIL DEFENSE ALERT ISSUED OVER TOKYO-2  
>1324: A-1 ENTERS TOKYO-2 AREA<br>1325: NAVY COMMENCES AERIAL ATTACK AGAINST A-1, NO EFFECT  
>1326: NAVY FRIGATE <strong>_**REDFIST**_** COMMENCES ATTACK AGAINST A-1; A-1 RETALIATION INFLICTS SEVERE DAMAGE, **_**REDFIST**_** WITHDRAWS  
>1327: EARTH DEFENSE FLEET COMMENCES ORBITAL BOMBARDMENT, NO EFFECT<br>1328: 16****th**** BATTLEFRAME COMPANY ENGAGES; RETREAT ORDER ISSUED AT 1336 WITH SIGNIFICANT CASUALTIES  
>1358: UNIT-00 PILOT R. IKARI IS SUMMONED<br>1432: UNIT-00 DEPLOYED TOPSIDE  
>1433: UNIT-00 ENGAGES A-1 AND SUSTAINS MINOR DAMAGE; PILOT IS INCAPACITATED<br>1437: UNIT-00 COMMANDEERED BY K. NAGISA  
>1438: UNIT-00 RE-ENGAGES AND DEFEATS A-1<br>1441: UNIT-00 RETRIEVAL INITIATED, PILOT IKARI RETRIEVED BY MEDIVAC; K. NAGISA INTERNED BY SECTION-2**

**OUTCOME: A-1 NEUTRALIZED, UNIT-00 SUSTAINED MINIMAL DAMAGE**

"So THAT'S how that idiot got into the program!" – groaned Asuka in exasperation. – "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time so they let him see classified things to keep him quiet! What an idiot..." – She selected the second entry.

**ENGAGEMENT No.02 – CONFIDENTIAL**

**COMBATANTS: UNIT-01 – A-1-2**

**TIMESCALE**

**1214: A-1 DETECTED BY ORBITAL SURVEILLANCE  
>1222: GENERAL CIVIL DEFENSE ALERT ISSUED OVER TOKYO-2, PILOTS ARE SUMMONED<br>1324: UNIT-01 DEPLOYED TOPSIDE WITH PILOT K. NAGISA  
>1326: UNIT-01 ENGAGES A-1 WITH AUTOMATIC WEAPON, NO EFFECT; A-1 RETALIATION FORCES UNIT-01 TO RETREAT<br>1327: UNIT-01 TEMPORARILY INCAPACITATED, A-1 DISTRACTED BY UNKNOWN BATTLEFRAME**

"That would be me." – chuckled Asuka.

**UNIT-01 REENGAGES, A-1 RETALIATION INFLICTS MINOR DAMAGE  
>1338: UNIT-01 REPORTS REACTOR DAMAGE, FAILSAFES ARE ENGAGED<br>PILOT DISOBEYS ORDERS TO PROTECT CIVILIAN WITNESSES FROM A-1**

Asuka groaned. – "Trying to play hero, huh? That sort of thing can kill you on the battlefield, you idiot!"

**UNIT-01 MANIFESTS A-1 DEFENSIVE SCREEN AND RETURNS INCOMING RANGED ATTACK; A-1 SUSTAINS HEAVY DAMAGE  
>1339: BSTW-01 SPONTANEOUSLY MOVES TO THE SURFACE<strong>

Asuka's eyebrows draw together. – "What?"

**UNIT-01 UNLEASHES UNKNOWN ATTACK, A-1 DEFEATED**

**OUTCOME: A-1 NEUTRALIZED, UNIT-01 SUSTAINED MODERATE DAMAGE, SIGNIFICANT COLLATERAL DAMAGE**

"Significant, hah! What kind of savior blasts several city blocks into smithereens to kill a single target? They really can't do this job without a _professional_ like me, can they?" – the girl seethed to herself but opened the last file anyway.

**ENGAGEMENT No.03 – CONFIDENTIAL**

**COMBATANTS: UNIT-00, UNIT-01 – A-1-3, 23 ALIEN DRONE AIRCRAFT**

**TIMESCALE**

**1628: A-1 DETECTED ENTERING ATMOSPHERE BY HQ GRAVIMETRIC DETECTOR ARRAY  
>1635: GENERAL CIVIL DEFENSE ALERT ISSUED OVER TOKYO-2<br>1701: EVANGELION UNITS ARE DEPLOYED TOPSIDE  
>1704: UNIT-00 VISUALLY CONFIRMS A-1<br>1706: A-1 INITIATES HOSTILITIES  
>1707: UNIT-01 SUSTAINS CRITICAL DAMAGE AND IS INCAPACITATED; UNIT-00 COMMENCES FIRE SUPPORT AND INCAPACITATES A-1<br>1708: UNIT-00 INITIATES FIGHTING RETREAT AGAINST DRONE AIRCRAFT  
>1709: UNIT-00 RETRIEVES UNIT-01 AND RETREATS UNDERGROUND<br>1717: UNIT-01 PILOT EXTRACTED FROM ENTRY PLUG AND RECEIVES PRELIMINARY MEDICAL ATTENTION FROM UNIT-00 PILOT; UNIT-00 PILOT SUFFERS HYPOTHERMIA**

"The heck?" – murmurs Asuka in surprise. – "How did that happen?"

**1721: BOTH EVANGELION UNITS ARE RETRIEVED  
>1823-0349: UNIT-01 RECEIVES TEMPORARY REPAIRS<br>1931: OPERATION NIGHTFALL PHASE 1 INITIATED  
>2314: OPERATIONS DIRECTOR CONFISCATES CERN LABORATORIES PROJECT XP-1<br>0156: FIRE SUPPORT BASE SET UP AT 35°13'44"N 138°59'13"E  
>0242: POWER SUPPLY TRANSPORTED TO FSB<br>0327: OPERATIONS DIRECTOR RETURNS TO HEADQUARTERS  
>0411: BREACH WEAPON ASSEMBLED AT FSB<strong>

"Breach weapon?" – Asuka asked in confusion.

**0507: UNIT-01 PILOT REVIVED  
>0634: UNIT-01 PILOT TRANSFERRED INTO ENTRY PLUG<br>0742: UNIT-00 ARRIVES TO FSB  
>0753: UNIT-01 ARRIVES TO FSB<br>0756: OPERATION NIGHTFALL PHASE 2 INITIATED  
>0801: UNIT-00 COMMENCES FIRST SHOT; A-1 SUSTAINS HEAVY DAMAGE<br>0804: A-1 RETALIATION, UNIT-01 ASSUMES DEFENSIVE POSITION  
>0805: DRONE AIRCRAFT APPROACHING FSB ELIMINATED BY ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE FROM <strong>_**CSS-BISMARCK**_** AND **_**CSS-ROCHELLE**_  
><strong>0806: UNIT-00 COMMENCES SECOND SHOT; A-1 DEFEATED<strong>

**OUTCOME: A-1 NEUTRALIZED AND RETRIEVED (REFER TO ATTACHMENT), MINOR COLLATERAL DAMAGE**

"That was one hell of a sniper battle!" – nodded Asuka in commendation before opening the attached file. The screen was instantly filled with various diagrams and graphs she couldn't understand so she moved on to the longest portion of text.

**ANALYSIS REVEALS NO ORGANIC TISSUE – A-1 POSSIBLY ARTIFICIAL IN ORIGIN  
>SEEMINGLY UNLIMITED SHAPESHIFTING CAPABILITIES SUGGEST NO INTERNAL SUPPORTING STRUCTURE – BODY APPEARS TO BE HOMOGENOUS<br>NO INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM WAS LOCATED – A-1 MAY HAVE BEEN REMOTE-CONTROLLED  
>BODY CONSIST OF CRYSTALLINE MATERIAL NOT RESEMBLING ANY KNOWN MATERIAL STRUCTURE – POSSIBLE NANOTECHNOLOGY?<br>CORE STRUCTURE COMPLETELY DESTROYED – ANALYSIS IMPOSSIBLE**

Asuka nodded to herself. – "At least I don't work with a bunch of idiots – these guys obviously know what they're doing." – She then closed the files and selected the personnel roster. She was immediately greeted by Rei's stoic expression. Asuka never saw the quiet girl without her shades before so the picture surprised her. – "Huh, she's got red eyes?" – she murmured before scrolling at the profile itself.

**NAME: Rei Ikari  
>DATE OF BIRTH: September 1, 2027<br>BIRTH NAME: Unknown  
>PARENTS: Unknown<strong>

**BLOOD TYPE: -CLASSIFIED-  
>CURRENT ASSIGNMENT: Project Evangelion Prototype Unit-00<br>CALLSIGN: "Frosty"**

"Riiight..." – she left it at that before scrolling to Rei's ability scores. One look and Asuka couldn't help but make an impressed whistle. – "She's _good_! High dexterity and synchronization ratio, excellent reaction times, a crack marksman and... maybe she could kick even _my_ ass in CQC!" – On second thought, she decided not to go there. Instead, she scrolled down and almost dropped the tablet at Kaworu's grinning face. – "No way..." – she breathed. – "_No fucking way!_ They really made that dork a pilot? Whose **brilliant** idea was that?" – She kept on raging for a few more minutes until she sufficiently calmed down to look at his profile.

**NAME: Kaworu Nagisa  
>DATE OF BIRTH: September 1, 2027<br>PARENTS: Unknown**

**BLOOD TYPE: -CLASSIFIED-  
>CURRENT ASSIGNMENT: Project Evangelion Prototype Unit-01<br>CALLSIGN: "Bishie"**

"Bishie? What the heck is that supposed to mean?" – she growled. Her anger quickly turned into incredulity when she looked at his ability scores. She just stared blankly for a second then guffawed. – "_Holy freakin' shit_, is this guy for real? He's got _no_ skill whatsoever! This is just _ridiculous_! How the hell did he get picked as a pilot if he's. THIS. _**LAME?**_"

Her fun was interrupted by her father calling from the other side of the door. – "What are you laughing at, kiddo?"

"Dad, was it your idea to recruit that dumbass into the program?"

"Nope, it happened before we came here. Why?"

"Why do you think? This guy has NO combat skill whatsoever! What made doctor Ikari think he would be a good pilot?"

"Hell if I know. I asked her about it too; she said the boy's 'special', whatever she meant."

The girl snorted. – "Special... yeah, right. A special grade of _idiot_, maybe."

* * *

><p><em>Ikari Residence, Tokyo-2<br>2356 hours_

The apartment was completely silent. Not a single soul was awake at this time of the day.

Except one.

Rei just stared at the ceiling silently, only diverting her gaze to look at the time. Satisfied with the result, she went back to what would be called stargazing if she were to do it outside. Of course, no one would go out for that at this time of the year.

Even the soft warmth of Schrödinger sleeping curled up on her stomach couldn't divert her mind from her loneliness. She allowed the cat to sleep on her because she wasn't the type who tosses and turns in bed. While he wasn't de-clawed, any wounds he could inflict on her body would heal within a single day thanks to her accelerated regenerative capabilities. This was the only part of her... _condition_ that Yui knew about since Rei took care of hiding the rest. Ending up strapped to an operating table by scientists eager to grab a scalpel and go on a treasure hunt aimed at finding out what else that shapely maiden body could be hiding wasn't on her agenda. She made that clear to her brother and he agreed.

That's not what she was thinking about, however.

'_Once again, mother has not come.'_

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo-2, Inner District 5<br>January 16, 2042  
>0746 hours<em>

"Hey, girls." – greeted Asuka as she took her place in the classroom.

Mari looked at Asuka's head and immediately noticed a change. – "You got new hairclips or what?" – she asked as she pointed at the two red objects sitting snugly in Asuka's hair.

Asuka shrugged. - "Not really, I'm not that childish. Besides..." – she leaned forward – "You're never going to guess where I was yesterday..." – she whispered with a grin.

"Picking up a guy?" – tried Mari.

"Nah. You know that thing Nagisa and Ikari is involved in?"

Mari and Hikari shared a knowing look. – "What thing?" – asked Hikari carefully.

Asuka smiled. – "The one you two are not supposed to know about. Project Evangelion."

"And how do _you_ know about that?" – asked Mari pointedly. Asuka replied by sliding her AEL ID card across the table.

"I got recruited too."

"How the hell?" – demanded Mari angrily. – "They can't just walk in and take random people to pilot their machines! Who the hell do they think they are?"

"Chill, I volunteered." – Asuka explained, only to get two incredulous stares in return.

"You _volunteered_?" – asked Hikari disbelievingly.

"How, did you just walk in there and asked to be put into one of those things?"

"Of course not. I happened to be good at kicking ass so they asked me if I want to try it." – Asuka looked around to make sure no one was listening in before continuing. – "Can you girls keep a secret?"

"Sure." – nodded Mari.

"Of course." – added Hikari.

"You remember when I corrected that dork Aida about MK225 technical data? That's because..." – Asuka breathed deep before finishing – "I'm a fully certified battleframe pilot with over 200 hours of experience."

A long silence followed her admission, broken by Mari's shocked whisper. – "...you do realize if Aida gets wind of this, he'll pester you endlessly?"

"Do you think I'm stupid or what? That's exactly why I asked you two to keep quiet about it. If he realizes I'm the Red Baron-"

Mari interrupted her instantly. – "Hold on a sec, _the_ Red Baron? The three-time champion of the amateur junior battleframe league?"

Asuka grinned impishly. – "One and the same. Dunno why everyone think I must be a guy if I'm that good... Anyway, since I have experience at handling battleframes, doctor Ikari – that's the AEL's boss and our Ikari's mother, by the way – asked me to do a 'comparative study'" – she said the last part with air quotes – "about similarities and differences between Durandals and Evangelions." – Asuka shrugged. – "It's not really similar even if we don't look at the difference in scale as the neural interface did away with the Durandal's hybrid transmission system."

"Oookay... what's that?"

"Basically, it's a dual-mode interface for the motivator system, implemented in order to avoid having to compromise between mobility and ease of use." – explained Asuka. – "In manual mode, the Durandal behaves like powered armor while in automatic mode, it behaves like a Gugnir. Simply twisting the hand controls between horizontal and vertical switches between the two so you don't have to fiddle with buttons. This way, you can go manual and jump around like a ninja or go automatic and march kilometers without lifting a finger."

"That sounds smart." – remarked Hikari with a nod.

"Yeah. I don't know who invented this but it's pretty damn brilliant. But an Evangelion is even better: you don't have to lift a finger. Just think what you want it to do and it'll do it, that's all there is to it! These behemoths are the _dream_ of all battleframe pilots, believe me on this."

"I can see why Aida would be so enthralled with this." – declared Mari. – "The way you talk about these things, I can almost see them as beautiful."

"Oh, I almost forgot! I actually scored my first kill yesterday, go figure." – boasted Asuka.

"You were out there fighting?" – asked Hikari in a scared tone.

"Don't fret, Kari. I won, that's all." – replied Asuka soothingly. – "Don't be afraid for me; I can take care of myself just fine. That reminds me... does any one of you know what 'bishie' means?"

"Bishie?" – asked Mari with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"It's probably _bishōnen_, meaning pretty boy." – Mari answered, only to get cut off by Asuka suddenly guffawing.

"Holy crap, _pretty boy_? Whoever thinks that idiot Nagisa is pretty needs to have their eyes cleaned! Preferably with _**hydrofluoric acid!**_" – she laughed, drawing several curious glances from nearby classmates. Mari and Hikari just shared a 'what's her problem?' look.


	4. Chapter 4

_Next chapter's here. I know I'm massively overdue, I'm really sorry. I (somewhat) irresponsibly started up a second fic, The Evangelion Odyssey. It's also a crossover but it can be found in the main Evangelion section of this site. Make no mistake, I won't put this fic on hold for the sake of that one, even though I'm personally more satisfied with TEO._

_As I wrote in the previous chapter, I might have trouble uploading from next month on. Not saying I will, only that I could. Personal reasons and all._

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo-2, Inner District 5<br>January 17, 2042  
>1434 hours<em>

"In here." – murmured Kaworu to Rei as he knocked at the door of his group's basement hideout. They've established two more safehouses elsewhere in the city but this remained their headquarters all along which was just fine.

"What does the four of four who lacks one say?" – came the demand from the other side of the door.

"But whom say ye that I am?" – answered Kaworu. It was his idea to use a password but since he couldn't decide on one, he asked Rei who promptly presented a Christian Bible. She also helped make the password riddle since making up something like _that_ is way beyond his mind, not to mention that while he spent nearly a decade in Europe, he didn't study Western religions for obvious reasons.

The door guard was apparently satisfied with his answer as Kaworu was granted passage. As he was about to go down the stairs, the guard stopped him. – "Who's that?" – he asked as he looked at Rei.

"New member. Keep watching." – answered Kaworu. – "The door, I mean." – he added as an afterthought. During one of their many discussions, Rei mentioned she wasn't really interested in relationships so he decided to keep any would-be Romeos away from her – no need to trouble her with such useless things.

Arriving onto the bottom of the stairs, Kaworu immediately drew everyone's attention with Rei's dark figure behind him. – "Everyone, I got news." – Hearing that, the group immediately gathered around. Kaworu began by sticking a thumb in Rei's direction. – "Some of you might know her. For those of you who don't, her name's Rei Ikari. She's a confidante of mine. Now listen: there are rumors around school that Rei and I are dating; that's a load of bullshit. However, that's not why I'm here. She got us something I'm pretty interested in."

Rei nodded and stepped forward. – "I have connections with a number of illegal arms dealers in the outer districts. These dealers supply a number of armed groups operating in those districts. One dealer has given me information regarding a large arms shipment passing through the city in thirteen days, intended for the local yakuza."

That statement sparked lots of disbelieving murmurs. – "The _yakuza_, man? What the hell are you trying to do here?" – summarized Tōji everyone's thoughts.

Kaworu grinned. – "Isn't it obvious? We intercept the shipment for ourselves! By doing so, we clear the conditions for moving our group into the second phase." – His smile disappeared as he continued. – "However, this is obviously going to be a hard one. Dangerous too. So I'll say it right out: _volunteers only_. I won't get offended if none of you come for the heist. The two of us" – he gestured at himself and Rei – "can do it just fine but I figured the more of us come, the easier it'll be. After all, we can't be at sixty places at one."

"Are you sure this information is reliable?" – asked Tokiwa.

"The source is a single dealer I am acquainted with." – answered Rei without missing a beat. – "There is no reason to doubt his honesty towards his most trusted customer." – she added as she spread her trenchcoat, revealing the multitude of weapons strapped to her frame, including the highly visible grips of her two Micro Uzis in shoulder holsters. This move drew murmurs of approval, partially for the weapons and partially for the black turtleneck stretched over her generous chest. As tough as she was, even Rei couldn't walk around in a tank top during winter.

Kaworu looked around for a while before turning to Tōji. – "Where's Kensuke?"

Touji released a sigh of annoyance. – "Where do ya think? Slackin' off playin' Ace Combat. _Again_."

"That lazyass guy..." – raged Kaworu as he stomped off to Kensuke's nest which served as the group's impromptu 'intelligence center'. – "Who the hell does he think he is? I told him **a thousand times** not to slack off on-duty!"

As Tōji watched him storm into Kensuke's nest, he realized Rei asked him a question. – "Sorry, didn't listen... what did ya say?" – he apologized, saying more words to the girl than he did in his whole life.

Rei didn't give any sign of annoyance but merely repeated her inquiry. – "Is the inaction of Aida a common occurence?"

"Pretty much. He's really smart but damn lazy."

Rei simply pulled out a small knife. – "Do you require me to... motivate him?" – she asked almost casually as she deftly spun the blade between her fingers.

"Nah... not really." – murmured Tōji as he imagined for a while what kind of motivation that knife would be to an otaku like Kensuke. It wasn't pretty.

Kaworu finally emerged from the room, forcefully drawing a protesting Kensuke by the ear. – "Hey, that was the last mission!" – the smaller boy protested while trying to keep his glasses from falling off.

"Who cares, you already finished that damn game sixteen times!" – rebutted Kaworu, quite pissed.

"But I wanted to see if the Falken is really as good against the SOLG as they say!" _[A/N: he's talking about the final mission of AC5.]_

"I don't care, see it another time! This isn't a damn arcade, play your fucking game at home! Anyway, Rei's got something for you." – he said as he finally calmed down.

Kensuke smoothed out his clothing and looked at the girl. – "What?" – Rei silently reached into a pocket and pulled out a flash drive. The boy accepted it and scratched his head. – "OK, I'll look at it."

"And do just that! If I catch you doing something else-"

Kensuke waved him off. – "Yes, I got it already! Jeez..." – he grumbled as he went back into the room.

Kaworu beckoned for Tōji to come closer. – "Rei and I have to go in for some tests. Keep an eye on him and make sure he does what he's supposed to."

"Got it, man."

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>1642 hours_

"What's taking them so long?" – grumbled Asuka as she kept waiting for the other two pilots. Today was the first synch test she would participate in with the others and she wasn't the patient type. She already went and looked at the other Evangelions, wondering how the hell did that idiot Nagisa managed to fight without getting tangled up by his own Evangelion's hair. Her waiting was put to an end as Kaworu showed up with Rei in tow. – "You're still here?" – the boy asked offhanded.

"Just waiting for you, slowpokes! At least _I_ wasn't late!" – she bit back as she glanced over them. Kaworu's plugsuit with its armored chest section didn't really reveal anything except from the well-toned arms and thighs. Now Rei's body-hugging suit on the other hand didn't really leave anything for the imagination; the girl's proportions quickly drew a twitching eyebrow from a jealous Asuka. Before she could make a biting comment however, her father showed up as well.

"All here? Good. Everyone hightail it to the lockers, doc's pissed enough already."

That wasn't something any of them would disagree with. Yui was _really_ mad at the test starting late due to Kaworu and Rei arriving late. Not that the test gave any interesting data; Rei still had the highest synch ratio, followed not very far by Kaworu but Asuka was catching up quickly. That last thing actually pleased Yui for some reason.

Asuka couldn't get her mind around it but took the praise nonetheless. She liked being praised for an actual achievement, not for something fake and frivolous. No matter what, she wanted to surpass the others and become the best. Still, she didn't know whether it really was something to be praised for even as she entered the girls' locker room after threatening that no-good Nagisa with castration if he follows them in; not that she needed to do it. For some unfathomable reason, the boy was less perverted than anyone she knew: no attempts at catching an eyeful of nubile flesh, no lecherous glances when he thought no one was looking, nothing. She couldn't decide whether he was gay or just plain didn't care. Either way, he was resisting her charms without any effort at all.

As she pondered on the matter while discarding her plugsuit, her eyes caught the hiss of another plugsuit's pressure seal being released. She glanced towards the source of the sound just in time to catch a glimpse of Rei slowly pulling down her own plugsuit and leaving for the shower. Normally, that wouldn't be a concern to anyone but for Asuka, that was an entirely different matter; the bisexual inside her squealed in delight at the prospect of another girl being naked so close to her she could practically smell the LCL on the other girl. As soon as she heard the shower starting up, Asuka sneaked to the opening and did a quick visual comparison between the two of them. _'Niiiice...'_

To her disappointment, she found that the other girl did indeed have a larger chest. Not by much but it was clearly noticeable to the naked eye. She didn't see any obvious difference in hip size. There wasn't a single blemish anywhere on the pale white skin and as Asuka's gaze wandered lower, her face took on a thoughtful expression. _'I thought she was dying her hair... huh...'_ Her gaze jumped to her own body then back to Rei's. Apparently, the albino doesn't engage in certain cosmetic maintenance of certain parts unseen to everyone but their owner._ 'Does she prefer to go natural or she just doesn't care? Or maybe she's too shy to do it.'_ She immediately discarded that thought with a snicker. _'Her, shy? Now that would be something to see!'_

Under the shower, Rei was fully aware of Asuka's presence but failed to understand the reason behind it. If she were to utilize the shower facilities, she would've done so already, right? Her ability to detect the other girl's emotions wasn't of any use either, as all she felt was envy, approval and something else she didn't recognize.

Lustfulness.

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo-2, NagisaShephard residence  
>1905 hours<em>

"Do you _want_ me to kick your balls off for staring at my butt or what?" – scowled Asuka at Kaworu who was standing next to her. She was currently sprawled out on the couch in such a way that made it impossible for anyone else to sit.

Kaworu scowled back. – "If you'd drag said butt away so that I can sit down, I wouldn't be standing here in the first place!"

"Too bad for you. I already have dibs on the TV so piss off; I want to hear the news instead of you."

He decided he had enough and did just that, stepping into the kitchen to nab a bottle from the fridge. As he was walking to his room sipping the cold vodka, he was stopped by the anchorman's voice. – "_We have received an official police report stating a steep increase of cases of vigilantism in Tokyo-2 since last November. The investigators suspect the culprits belong to a single organized group that already committed over eighty counts of violent retaliation against sexual predators, muggers and street drug dealers. In the latter's case, the vigilantes confiscated any and all illegal substances on-site then left the area before law enforcement personnel arrived; the substances did not appear on the black market, leading the investigators to believe they were not acquired for financial gain. Every single site where the group struck was marked with a spray-paint symbol you can see on the screen; the police asks the populace that if they see this symbol, call law enforcement personnel and do not disturb the area until they arrive._" – As Kaworu looked at the displayed symbol - an eye within an inverted pentagram encased by an upside-down triangle -, his mouth slowly turned into a huge grin.

'_Oh, __**YES**__. Way to go, guys; we're famous now.'_


	5. Chapter 5

_Guys, I'm really sorry for the delay. It looks like I'm gonna have to expedite. I wanted this chapter to come later but I simply can't come up with filler right now. Therefore, timeskip._

_On the other hand, this is a plot-critical moment that will have __**serious**__ consequences later. I know there will be things that won't make sense but bear with it. The canonverse wasn't much different in that regard, anyway. So no, this chapter's events aren't going to be a plot hole. It won't be explained any time soon but things WILL come to full circle._

_This is a multi-parter chapter, by the way. It'll be wrapped up in one, maybe two additional parts depending on how long those parts will be._

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>February 1, 2042  
>1143 hours<em>

"What's all the rush here?" – asked Kaworu as he walked into the briefing room, followed closely by Rei. Asuka closed the line, scowling at the other two's proximity to each other.

"We've picked up another Angel." – answered Yui while perusing her tablet.

Kaworu grinned. – "Ah, nice! I haven't kicked ass in quite a while. When is it going to arrive?"

"About three days or so." – came the answer. This answer completely floored Shinji and Asuka, while Rei merely raised an eyebrow. Detecting an Angel from this far off is a start. – "It made planetfall in Novaya Zemlya about five hours ago and it looks like it will take the long way by walking here."

"Naturally, we're not going to wait for it taking its time." – added Shephard. – "Therefore, we're launching a long-distance interception mission. All three of you, gear up; you're going to Russia."

"_Russia?_" – yelled Kaworu and Asuka.

"Yes. Here's the plan." – On his command, the hologram projectors built into the table powered up and a mostly flat topographic map appeared. – "We're dropping you guys here, on the western shore of the Yenisei Gulf." – A green mark appeared on the map, bordering a blue region that framed the map from the east. – "Once the operation starts, you are to move five klicks to the west. The area is wide-open plains with no vegetation so the Angel will approach from the northeast on a straight path." – A red line appeared, followed by a dotted green line running from the drop point to intercept the red line. – "Problem is, there's a massive snowstorm in the area so visibility is going to be low. We don't have orbital surveillance either due to cloud cover so we don't know what this Angel's capable of. Now, loadout. Nagisa."

"Yeah?"

"You'll be using B-type equipment, as always. We're also sending that spear thing with you since we know it works against those shield thingies Angels use." – The man looked at Yui. – "Doc, did your guys find out anything about it?"

She shook her head. – "Nothing. We still have no idea how is it capable of penetrating A-1 defensive screens."

"Too bad. Anyway, next; Asuka."

"What?"

"You'll be using A-type equipment again but watch for crosswind – weather's really bad out there. Also, use the beam rifle."

"Colonel, we haven't tested the RX-42 in such conditions yet!" – protested Yui.

"We'll do now." – He turned back to the pilots. – "Ikari."

"I am listening."

"We'll be keeping you in reserve, G-type equipment."

Asuka scoffed. – "_Real_ good idea. How is she going to snipe anything in a snowstorm?"

"With you two as spotters." – her father answered without missing a beat. – "Doc's uploaded a linked targeting system into Unit-00; if any one of you sees the A-1, the software will relay its exact position to Unit-00. It's not much different from when you shot that blue A-1 through cover but the distance is larger so compensate for bullet drop."

"Understood."

"Also, the new F-type equipment arrived yesterday so we're dropping it in for you. This thing's really sluggish so only use it in emergency. Chances are, by the time we get to that point the others will be retreating. If you do use it, try to bring it back in one piece but you're definitely not going to do any acrobatics in it so if things get really hairy, just ditch it and run. Any questions?"

Rei shook her head but Kaworu butted in. – "Why are you sending in all three of us? Rei and I can take that bastard!"

"Like hell!" – yelled Asuka. – "I can do this alone!"

"Don't make me laugh, _rookie_!" – the boy taunted.

Asuka looked about ready to strangle him when Shephard broke them up. – "Alright, that's enough you two! Take your anger out against the Angel, not each other! I hope you don't have anything else planned for today because you're not going to get home early. Now go get your things; we're launching in one hour."

* * *

><p><em>Eastern Siberia, Yenisei estuary area<br>Five hours later_

"_Alright people, we're gonna have to expedite._" – called out Shephard through the radio. He and the rest of the command staff stayed behind in Tokyo-2 with only the pilots going anywhere near the battlefield. – "_The sun is going to set in less than an hour so if you don't do this one fast, you're going to have to fight blind._"

"Are you kidding me? This is already the worst kind of conditions to fight in!" – complained Asuka as she looked at the swirling snow outside. According to the external sensors, it was -56°C outside. Visibility was about three hundred meters and behind that, all that could be seen was whiteness. The Evangelions' AIs automatically polarized the video feed and displayed a holographic artificial horizon to avoid whiteout – another trick born from Shephard's head.

"No shit, Sherlock..." – grumbled Kaworu while marching after her. If it weren't for the map they were provided, they would've been separated very quickly.

"I don't remember asking for smartass comments!" – the girl shot back.

Before another argument erupted, Shephard once again broke them up. – "_Leave the yelling for later and watch for the A-1. Ikari, are you ready?_"

"I am prepared." – came the curt answer.

"_Good. It shouldn't be far out._"

Turned out it really wasn't: barely more than a minute later a lumbering dark form appeared from the whiteness. Before anyone could've said anything, Unit-01 started walking up to the Angel. – "Wh-... Hey! Where are you going, idiot? – yelled Asuka after him.

"I got this. Watch and learn, rookie." – came the eager answer. – "Hey, you!" – This part was directed at the Angel who stopped in its tracks. Its exact appearance still couldn't be seen, only a vaguely mushroom-shaped silhouette.

"**...what do you want, whelp?**" – asked the Angel after a short while.

"Thought you'd be real sneaky if you try to attack like this, huh? Well, you screwed up 'cause not only we saw you coming, you're _way_ too far to do anything. In fact, we already fragged four of you guys; why the hell are you still coming?" – asked Kaworu the question that was bugging him for a while.

"**You have something that belongs to us. Return it.**"

"I have no clue what you're talking about." – admitted Kaworu. – "Not like I care, anyway."

"Who the fuck are you talking to?" – screeched Asuka in annoyance. She didn't hear the Angel's voice.

"**It does not matter either way. Oppose us and die.**"

Kaworu grinned. – "One, that ain't gonna happen and two, I'm not alone."

The Angel's silhouette tilted its upper part to the side. – "**Your confidence in numbers is worthless, based on the true assumption you are not alone.**"

"So what?"

"**Neither am I.**" – came the booming answer as the ground started shaking under them and the wind was overlaid by a faint buzzing.

"Uh oh." – quipped Kaworu in a not-so-confident-anymore tone.

"Uh oh what?" – demanded Asuka in a deadpan one.

Her answer came just moments later when hundreds of flying creatures shot out of the snowfall, screeching and hissing as they sprinted at the Evangelions with a strange gait. As they got closer, the reason for said gait became clear: the reptilian creatures had three legs, with two holding up their torso and a third one balancing from the rear. Their chitinous heads had a long proboscis starting from the top and stretching to about half of their body length, as well as a shorter one protruding from the chin. The end result looked as if a hammer grew legs. These creatures didn't look like anything from this world; they were so utterly _alien_ they could've easily passed as a drawing of H. R. Giger come to nightmarish life.

Asuka didn't ask anything but launched herself backwards into the air, firing her beam rifle on full auto into the cloud of critters which didn't even slow them down: they kept charging as their neighbors were obliterated by the orange particle beams. She briefly considered comboing them but they were already too close.

Kaworu on the other hand had no flight equipment and was instantly mobbed by the creatures that ran up Unit-01's armor and bashed their heads into the armor. He ignored them and swiped into the crowd with his spear, each strike shedding blood and catapulting dozens of dismembered body parts into the air. Still, there were too many and it didn't helped him when Adam cut in. – "**I am detecting structural damage to the outer armor. They are breaking through.**"

"These little fucks?"

"**Indeed. Their strikes have sufficient kinetic energy to shatter steel.**"

"Damn!" – he swore as he started sweeping them off Unit-01, only to get more and more swarming onto him as the creatures utilized the sudden cessation of crowd control attacks.

Meanwhile, Asuka kept firing into the crowd that followed her below. Still, it seemed too easy. Then it hit her. – "Where's the Angel?"

The answer came when a large mass crashed into her. Turning Unit-02's head, she saw that it was the Angel which apparently grew two pairs of insect-like veiny wings. The flying tackle took her completely off-guard as their combined mass was more than what her thrusters could keep in the air. With the Angel positioned in such a way that she couldn't use the beam rifle's bayonet, Asuka whipped out the knife stored beneath her Evangelion's armpit and blindly stabbed to the back several times, the last one striking something fleshy. This did the job as the Angel let go of her...

...only to have the crowd that was previously following her taking advantage of her drop in altitude as a multitude of creatures leapt onto Unit-02's feet. – "Shit!" – she swore as they pulled her down even further until she was in the exact same situation as Kaworu: being mobbed by more creatures than she could handle. Individually, they weren't much of an annoyance but the situation the two Evangelions were in could be compared to a human being targeted by six hundred mosquitoes simultaneously.

* * *

><p>Back in Tokyo, the control room was in complete chaos. – "Doc, how tough is that damn armor?" – yelled Shephard over the crew's various exclamations of telemetry readouts.<p>

"Which one?"

"The A-type!"

"It's light armor not suitable for endurance combat! We couldn't put in anything stronger because it was too heavy!"

The man instantly turned several shades paler. – "Asuka, Nagisa! Get out of there and regroup!"

"_Not yet, we can do this!_" – came Kaworu's protest.

"_Got it, going now!_" – replied Asuka as her signal started moving away from the battlefield.

"I meant with Nagisa!" – added Shephard hastily.

"_Forget it, it's his damn fault!_" – the girl protested.

"I don't care, go back for him RIGHT NOW!"

"_Wait a sec..._" – A short pause followed. – "_These things have completely surrounded us!_"

"Use the pre-set retreat route!" – her father ordered.

"_That one's a no-go! Repeat, extraction route compromised!_"

Shephard angrily rubbed his own head. – "This entire operation's gone FUBAR! Ikari, where are you?"

"_I am holding position as ordered._" – came Rei's calm voice. – "_I was unable to target the A-1 in the requisite timeframe._"

"Don't mind that now! Is the F-type near you?"

"_Indeed._"

"Use it and get them out of there! I don't care how, just do it!"

"_Understood._"

* * *

><p>In the drop zone, Rei discarded her targeting sight and let go of her railgun as she quickly stood up and went for the dark shape towering over her. As she got closer, the shape turned out to have a metallic sheen. She didn't stop to admire it but quickly turned Unit-00 around and commanded its left foot to step backwards into the large receptacle. She repeated the maneuver with the other foot and leaned backwards, her Evangelion's reactor casing snugly fitting into an even larger receptacle. A frame-like structure locked down over the Evangelion's chest, sealing it securely into the machine. – "<strong>Powerup sequence initiated.<strong>" – noted Lilith.

Rei then commanded Unit-00 to put it's arms into the machine's, a set of clamps locking them securely into place as Rei gripped the entry plug's control sticks, causing Unit-00 to grab onto a set of similar ones outside. – "Status." – she asked flatly.

"**Self-tests complete. Type-F Broadside Assault System fully operational.**" – acknowledged Lilith.

"Interfacing complete." – reported Rei to the control center. – "I am proceeding to the battlefield." – Outside, two pairs of landspinners deployed from the machine's legs and the Evangelion-sized robotic exoskeleton started rolling into its maiden battle.

* * *

><p>"Damn coward..." – seethed Kaworu as he charged at the Angel while still covered in critters. – "Fight one on one, you bastard!" – He swung Unit-01's spear which the Angel dodged without even trying.<p>

"**Why would we?**" – came the almost mocking question.

"Because that's the mark of a **TRUE MAN!**" – Kaworu screamed as he leapt above the Angel, raising his spear above his head before striking straight down. Israfel reacted by erecting an AT-field, expecting it to stop the weapon...

...which it didn't.

The spear cleaved the Angel right in two from top to bottom, the two halves falling to the sides with a river of blood running from the raw flesh. Unit-01 landed with a loud crash somewhat dampened by the snow. It nonchalantly swiped the critters from its armor before propping the spear on its right shoulder. – "Huh... that was easy." – Kaworu remarked.

* * *

><p>Asuka was busily trying to swipe more bugs from Unit-02 when she heard the boy's voice through the comm. – "<em>I got the sucker. It's dead.<em>" – Anger welled up within her as she realized she got utterly humiliated during her first mutual operation. This was _exactly_ why she wanted to go alone: that idiot played the helpless until she was distracted and stole _her_ kill! That bastard! – "You little-!" – She got distracted when another creature hit her armor particularly hard, cracking the outer layer. Asuka quickly removed the offender before it could've inflicted any more damage. – "These bug-things are still alive!"

"_Kill them then come back. Ikari, you can turn back if you want, situation's not that urgent any more._" – came Shephard's clearly relieved answer.

"_Negative. I shall assist them._" – replied the girl before she was interrupted by Kaworu.

"_What the-? This thing is still alive!_"

"Are you deaf or what? I just said that!" – yelled Asuka angrily, sweeping another creature off of her Evangelion.

"_I mean the Angel! It's still ki-_" – a crash sounded through. – "_Motherf-! Jeez, there are TWO of these things?_" – came his incredulous cry before the connection abruptly cut off.

Asuka frowned. – "That doesn't sound so good... should I go help that idiot out?" – she asked but she received no answer. – "Hey, did you guys hear me?" – Again, no answer. – "Sekhmet, is the channel still on?"

"**I lost all telemetry contact with headquarters.**" – replied the AI.

"Is it a hardware problem?"

"**I don't think so. The long-range transceiver is operational but there's no answer to my hails. In fact, I don't get anything but static.**"

"Great... what about Unit-00?"

"_I am experiencing the same technical difficulties, pilot Shephard._" – replied Rei over a slightly grainy connection. – "_Short-range communications have noticeably degraded quality as well._"

"_**I ran a spectral analysis on the noise that is affecting our equipment.**_" – came Lilith's voice. – "_**It noise appears to be artificial in origin as it follows a regular pattern.**_"

"Artificial...?" – murmured Asuka before her eyes went wide. – "Jamming!"

"_I concur._" – affirmed Rei with a frown. – "_There are no documented cases of organic lifeforms being capable of generating radio noise. However, the involvement of a third party raises additional questions. In any event, we can no longer rely on remote command and control staff. What do you intend to do?_"

Asuka slowly exhaled and tightened her grip on the entry plug's control interface. – "I'm taking field command. How far out are you?"

"_I will arrive in approximately five minutes._"

"Good. Get over here, I'll go see what's taking the idiot so long." – Asuka declared as she fired her thrusters and took up.

A few minutes later, she arrived at the position where she left Unit-01. It didn't take her long to actually find it though when she did, Asuka didn't know whether to groan or laugh.

Unit-01 was stuck into the ground upside down, legs pointing skyward as the creatures swarmed over them. By the look of the shattered armor and the sight of the creatures busily stripping the flesh off the calves, it looked like the Evangelion was in this position for a while. Asuka shook her head. – "Seriously... they'll probably reconsider putting him in there. This isn't a work for cocky dumbasses like him."

"_You underestimate his intelligence._" – remarked Rei.

Asuka snorted. – "Don't give me that. I know he's your boyfriend and all but he's just not cut out for this job."

"_We are not romantically involved._"

"Yeah, right... then why are you dry-humping him all the time?"

"_I have my reasons._"

Asuka was about to let loose a biting comment when once again she was attacked from behind by the Angel. Or to be more exact, Angels: the one that attacked her tried to piledrive her into the ground; she threw it off before impact but then the other flew out of nowhere and caught her in an aerial tackle that sent both of them rolling on the ground. Asuka quickly leapt to her feet and whipped out both of her knives, leisurely spinning them between her Evangelion's fingers into a reverse grip as she assumed a battle-ready stance.

For nearly a whole minute, the combatants silently glared at each other. The Angels were the first to lose their patience as the two broke in different directions. Asuka immediately broke into a sprint and charged at one of them; she knew she had to be extremely aggressive and rapidly defeat one before the other comes to help lest they overwhelm her with numbers. Therefore, her first move was a flying kick aimed at the first Angel's face which made her opponent stagger backwards. Right as she got a solid footing, she let loose a roundhouse kick behind her that caught the other Angel as it tried to take advantage of her being busy with the first one.

Next Asuka let loose a flurry of lightning-fast slashes at the first Angel, finishing up by stabbing both knives into the Angel's eyeholes, sending it staggering blindly. She spun around and brutally backhanded the second Angel which meanwhile had come back for the next round, grabbing what could pass as its shoulders and kneeing into its exposed core with enough force to crack it. She tried to headbutt it in the face but as she reared Unit-02's head back, the first Angel grabbed and yanked it away from its comrade, sending Unit-02 to its back on the ground. – "What the f-?" – she swore in surprise as she didn't expect the first Angel to recover so quickly.

Indeed, the knives were missing from its eyeholes and the cuts she inflicted were completely healed. The other one's core was also mending rapidly. Asuka wasn't stupid: she immediately realized she's going to lose if her opponents can regenerate all damage done to them.

And then she was occupied by something else entirely as if on cue, the horde of smaller creatures that were circling the combatants charged in and dogpiled Unit-02 like hungry vultures.

* * *

><p>"<strong>She's down, lad.<strong>"

"As expected. Take us in, full ECM."

"**Aye.**"

"Also, prepare the GRC. I don't want to blow her up but just in case."

* * *

><p>As Rei was rolling towards the battlefield, things suddenly got heated. – "<strong>High-speed aerial radar contact incoming.<strong>" – warned Lilith. Rei looked up, just in time for a dark shadow to zoom over Unit-00 and disappear into the blizzard in a split second, followed by a sonic boom shaking the entry plug. She immediately tried locking onto it but failed. – "**Radar contact lost, chaff detected.**"

She narrowed her eyes; the size of the shadow was way too large for it to be a fighter plane, yet no capital ship was known to be supersonic-capable. They just weren't aerodynamic enough and lacked the necessary thrust to break the sound barrier; even the smallest frigates couldn't come close.

And it was heading towards the battlefield.

* * *

><p>Asuka was gritting her teeth in pain as Unit-02's armor was almost gone, with blood running from every crevice with shreds of flesh being torn out every moment. The feedback was almost excruciating but she still tried to struggle, even as the Angels pinned her arms and legs down like a gruesome alien version of crucifixion.<p>

Then a massive wave of pain washed over her as everything turned red.

For a second, she thought this was it but then she heard a chorus of inhuman screeches as the tugging on her Evangelion stopped. She experimentally opened her eyes just in time to see the redness dissipate. It came from outside and from the looks of it, she wasn't the only target: charred piles of flesh were washed off of Unit-02's battered chest by a torrential downpour of melted snow as she got up, the Angels having let her go for some reason. They were currently backing away from her, looking at something above.

Movement caught her eye from upwards and as she followed the Angels' gaze, Asuka couldn't decide whether she was dreaming or dead.

* * *

><p>Kaworu slowly cracked his eyes open as the commotion outside subsided. He was still in Unit-01's entry plug but his neck felt unnaturally stiff for some reason. As he tried moving it however, he realized he was hanging upside down from the seat. All controls were out but he tried nevertheless. – "You here, buddy?"<p>

"**I am still operational.**" – responded Adam with some static in his voice.

"What's going on?"

"**Until now, Unit-02 was engaged by multiple contacts. However, my external sensors detected a large radiation surge and all but two contacts disappeared.**"

Kaworu nodded uneasily. – "Told her she's not gonna do it on her own... alright, what do we have?"

"**Internal damage in both shoulders. Targeting system malfunction detected. Current combat capability: zero point zero zero zero three percent.**"

Kaworu smirked. – "That's more than a zero so get up. We're goin' right back to beat that guy's ass!"

His hopes however were instantly crushed by Adam. – "**Negative. We cannot assume a standing position due to arm damage.**"

"At least turn the damn cameras on!" – he growled in frustration at being helpless.

As soon as stage 2 synchronization set in, he managed to ignore the residual pain when Adam warned him. – "**New contact detected. Visual contact acquired.**"

Kaworu squinted at the object, unable to conceal his surprise. – "What...the..."

It was clearly an Evangelion but nothing like anything he had ever seen before. The armor was largely similar to the streamlined, high-tech appearance of A-type equipment but took those attributes even further, giving it an almost _royal_ look. Its coloration was the purest white painted over with bright red in places and a thick white strand of hair reminiscent of Unit-01's hung out from the back of the helmet. Its left hand and most of the forearm was wrapped in a crude-looking gauntlet with various cables running into sockets near the Evangelion's shoulder pylon. Similar cables led to the right forearm and into the small sheath-like object on the underside of said forearm.

Then the unknown turned around, revealing its vaguely human-like face and two green eyeholes. But was grabbed Kaworu's attention wasn't the face; it was something he was seeing all along but couldn't make sense of.

It was a pair of long, mechanical devices extending from the back, each radiating four blue energy fields arranged like feathers of a wing. And it apparently functioned as such, since the Evangelion lacked the bulky thruster units of A-type equipment yet hovered smoothly in the air as if gravity was just an easily ignored annoyance.

The combined appearance was one that radiated a kind of otherworldly power, one that would make ordinary men cover in fear and flee at the mere sight of. Kaworu was nothing of that sort but even he felt awe at the sight of the Evangelion.

Then the battle restarted as the Angels' eyes flashed and two beams of light shot at the intruder who interrupted their fight...

...then the Evangelion teleported out of the way.

At least, that's what Kaworu believed until he realized it simply dodged – with a speed that could not be followed by human eyes. Then the unknown pilot made its presence known. – "_My turn._" – The Evangelion raised its left hand and an unnatural red radiance erupted from between its fingers as the gauntlet was thrust forward palm-first before it fired a massive beam of crimson red energy.

The beam hit near one of the Angels which instinctually leapt away from it... straight at the other Angel. As the two collided, their flesh rippled and morphed until Israfel was once again. – "**Who dares distrupting our judgment?**" – demanded the audibly irate Angel as it sprouted wings and took to the sky towards its attacker.

"_That would be me._" – answered the pilot in a bored tone as the Evangelion once again dodged to the side, yanking the Angel's extended arm as it kicked the Angel in the core before another eyebeam forced it to let go.

Almost without effort, the Evangelion zigzagged around its opponent, kicking and beating it with unblockable speed before stopping at the back. The compartment on its right forearm opened and Kaworu saw a small cylinder fly into the waiting hand before a flash occurred and the Angel's wings were cut off with a sizzling sound.

With nothing to hold it up anymore, Israfel plummeted to the ground as the Evangelion deactivated its energy sword and put it back to its place before suddenly launching into a lighting-fast dive at the Angel with left arm extended. Kaworu thought it'll fire that red beam again but the two combatants collided as the Evangelion drove the Angel into the ground with a massive plume of dirt and mud.

Kaworu saw Unit-02 suddenly leaping into action...

* * *

><p>"Oh no, you don't. Uther, activate the Trial System."<p>

"**Aye, lad.**"

* * *

><p>...only to suddenly freeze up and fall on its face as his entry plug's walls filled up to the brim with error messages. – "What the fuck?" – he cried as Unit-01 became completely unresponsive. – "Adam, what the HELL is going on?"<p>

The AI however didn't respond; all Kaworu heard was static. – "_G'night, sucker._" – he heard from the external audio feed before the unknown Evangelion's gauntlet erupted into a storm of crimson energy and the Angel suddenly found itself in a world of **PAIN**. Kaworu and Rei simultaneously winced at its shill cries clawing their way into their heads. The torture went on for nearly a minute before the storm disappeared and the Evangelion stood up.

Israfel was a blackened pile of flesh with a sporadic twitch here and there, almost as if it was thrown into the Sun's chromosphere and somehow survived vaporization. Then its core flashed and the unknown Evangelion was launched away as the Angel was enveloped in a reflective sphere that obscured it from sight. The white and red Evangelion merely stared at it for a while before it turned and looked Kaworu straight in the eye.

Kaworu was about to ask 'who the hell are you?' when the Evangelion unfolded its wings and launched itself into the sky until it was out of sight. Seconds later, the error messages disappeared and Unit-02 started twitching. Not a minute later, Unit-00 rolled onto the battlefield but nothing was left to fight. He saw the armored Evangelion experimentally bashing onto the Angel's protective field but it bounced off with a metallic sound.

"_Unit-00 to all pilots. Requesting status report._" – came Rei's voice.

Kaworu let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding. – "Hooooh man... you have NO idea how glad I am to hear your voice."

"I'm fine." – murmured Asuka as she got Unit-02 back on its feet, albeit with visible difficulty.

Just then the radio feeds switched back on. – "_-peat, this is Central Dogma calling any Evangelion units! If anyone's alive, respond!_" – came Shephard's plainly panicked plea.

"We're here, no need to yell at us." – complained Kaworu.

"_**FINALLY!**_" – came the man's scream of relief. – "_We had no feed for nearly fifteen minutes! What the hell happened out there? No wait, scratch that; what are our losses?_"

"_This is Unit-00._" – reported Rei at a split second before Kaworu heard Yui's 'Oh, thank God!' from the background. – "_There are no casualties among the pilots; however, we have failed our mission._"

The background noise from the control room instantly ceased into dead silence. – "_Explain._" – demanded Shephard seriously.

"_The Angel has entered a dormant state and is surrounded by a stasis field we cannot breach. Unit-02 is heavily damaged and Unit-01 is out of action. In addition, I failed to arrive onto the battlefield in time to assist them._" – answered Rei in a tone Kaworu realized was shame.

"_I see..._" – remarked Shephard as the control room once again filled with noise but nowhere near the previous level. – "_Pack up and come home; I bet debriefing's gonna be interesting..._"


	6. Chapter 6

_Next chapter. I hit another roadblock again when I went into a Spacebattles thread that compared TVTropes to Ingsoc/Newspeak (that's 1984 for those who don't know). Some of the posts there hit __**really**__ sore points to the extent where I'm once again contemplating deleting the fic from this site and purging my laptop of every trace of its existence. My mindset could accurately be described as 'oh man, what the FUCK was I thinking? Did I actually think I could write decent fanfiction?'_

_I'm still not entirely convinced so what do you guys say? Should I keep writing or should I just call it quits? Even if I'm told to stop, I'll probably finish the fic anyway; I just won't upload the final version anywhere._

_Honest opinions, please. I think I enabled anonymous reviews so just lay it all on me._

* * *

><p><em>Unknown location<br>February 1, 2042  
>1834 hours<em>

Tokyo's ruins stood undisturbed for over two decades, watched over only by the dark form of the Citadel towering from the Chiyoda ward. Just like many others, this city saw its fair share of decay during the Occupation and feverish street fights during the Great Uprising. What remained of the population was abandoned shortly after the rebels snuck a tactical nuclear warhead into the Citadel's base and detonated it, toppling the multi-kilometric spire over the Chuo and Koto wards.

Therefore, no one witnessed a white and red Evangelion landing next to the gigantic hulk.

As soon as its feet touched the ground, the Evangelion knelt and the energy fields holding it up deactivated as the device generating them folded onto the entity's back. Next the entry plug ejected and a teenage boy disembarked, slowly and clumsily climbing down to the ground before he turned to the Evangelion. – "Uther, if you would...?"

"_**Aye, lad. Engaging active camouflage.**_" – the external speakers responded before the entry plug retracted on its own and the Evangelion repositioned itself from kneeling to cross-legged sitting. Then several plates opened on the armor and a teal glow accompanied by a rising whine was followed by the Evangelion's silhouette blurring and fading out of sight.

With that done, the boy headed for the nearby ruined building where another shape stood in the shadows. – "How'd it go?" – asked a girl's voice from under the hood.

"No problems, cousin. They never knew what him 'em."

The form nodded. – "Excellent. Then Condition 1 has been cleared."

"Come on, Haruka! Why are we messing around like this? I should've just killed that Angel where it stood-"

"That's not what the plan is! We defeat the Angel, not kill it, only damage it enough to give the others time to prepare for a rematch. Then we tell the Colonel how to defeat it and bail out. That's what we're supposed to do and any deviation from that could have severe consequences."

"And what if they don't make it?"

"They will." – she answered, reassuring. – "The two of us wouldn't even exist otherwise."

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>2243 hours_

"Unit-01 and Unit-02 sustained moderate damage. Unit-01 needs both of its shoulders reset and new helmet optics installed. Unit-02 needs its entire armor plating replaced and the beam rifle's particle accelerator electromagnets need to be realigned and recalibrated due to impact damage. Projected repair time: slightly over one week if the crews work in triple shifts." – finished Yui the list of battle damage to the three sulking teenagers in front of her.

Shephard was positively fuming. – "Alright kids, I want an explanation. NOW."

"About?" – grumbled Asuka in a bad mood.

"_What the hell happened out there?_ You three were trained and prepared – and you came back humiliated and defeated!"

"It's his fault!" – yelled Asuka as she pointed an accusing finger at Kaworu. – "He had to go and run off to get himself killed!"

"Why me? Your Evangelion is the one that looks like it had a close encounter with a cheese grater!" – cried Kaworu indignantly.

"**BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!** I don't give a rat's ass who's accusing who! Both of you were responsible for this so don't you try saving yourself at each other's expense!" – The man finished yelling as his eyes narrowed dangerously. – "And that's another matter. I haven't seen the slightest sign of teamwork between you two! Both of you acted arbitrarily and independently, leading to the enemy separating and defeating you. Especially you, Asuka; I thought you knew better than this!"

"Al_right_, thank you _very much_! Why don't you all gang up on me, will you?" – the girl shot back with unhidden anger.

"I'm not ganging up on you but considering you're the only one between you three who has military training, I would've expected you to watch for flanking attempts."

Asuka just grit her teeth as she knew the man was right but didn't say anything. Not in front of that prick who robbed her of victory.

Shephard finally deflated with a sigh. – "Alright... all of you, hit the showers and go home. It was a long day and I _still_ have to find out how to clean up this mess."

Once the pilots left, Shephard turned to Yui. – "Well, doc... let's see what we have."

She typed a few commands into her tablet and the briefing room's holographic projector materialized a still-frame image of the mysterious savior of the three Evangelions. After a short while, a grid ran across the image which disappeared, only to be replaced by a three-dimensional wireframe shape of the unknown Evangelion. The wireframe was quickly textured with whatever they managed to collect from Unit-01 and Unit-02's helmet cameras.

"First off. Doc..." – Shephard began. – "Who the hell is that?" – he asked slowly as he pointed at the white-and-red Evangelion slowly floating downwards with a pair of devices that consisted of four deep blue energy fields mounted like feathers of a wing.

"I don't know..." – the woman responded, just as dumbstruck. – "That's not ours."

"Well then... who the hell is it?"

"That is something I would like to know well. It's clearly an Evangelion but we're not the one who built it." – She sighed. – "And I know of only one person who has the scientific resources and biotechnological expertise to make one."

Shephard raised an eyebrow. – "Industrial espionage, then?"

"Possibly. Creating an Evangelion requires a certain... _material_, so to speak, that only our corporation possesses. This person I speak of was once a member of the team that developed the design which eventually became Unit-00 but we parted ways after a... _misunderstanding_."

"And who's that guy?"

Yui made a smile that could've frozen blood had she were looking directly at someone. – "Gendo Ikari, CEO of Gehirn Industries and my ex-husband."

Shephard shook his head in half-disbelief-half-amusement. – "Oh, boy... do I want to know?"

"No, Colonel. You don't. All you should know about him is that had he gotten his way, there is a very high likelihood that Rei wouldn't have sat in this very room a few minutes ago."

"...right. What do we know about this Evangelion?"

"Very little, actually. For example..." – She rotated the model around so its back was facing them. – "There's no reactor. The entire reactor mounting apparatus is missing and where the main power socket should be is this." – She highlighted a pair of conical protrusions sticking out of the Evangelion's back stacked on top of each other. – "Even if whoever produced this managed to miniaturize a fusion reactor to be this small, it barely radiates any heat. In fact, it's unlike any known power source."

"Funny, I thought you would say these were the most unusual parts." – remarked Shephard as he gestured at the wings.

"That is something highly unusual as well." – She brought up a still-frame of the Evangelion evading an attack, showing the wings' energy fields drawing afterimages and radiating iridescent particles wherever they passed. – "It's probably an anti-gravity flotation system of some kind... but that's _decades_ behind current science, even with the technology we salvaged from the Citadels. The energy requirements alone would be enormous – far more than what the reactors of our Evangelions can produce. Maintaining supersonic flight while also operating a high-powered ECM means whatever source of power this Evangelion uses, it's _immensely_ powerful. But that is still not what I'm worried about."

"The mysterious errors?"

"Exactly. The chances of both Evangelions simultaneously throwing up critical errors then simultaneously rebooting are astronomically small. Therefore, I looked across the logs and if I'm right, that Evangelion poses a serious threat to ours'."

"What exactly did you find?"

"Kernel level system overrides issued from an unknown source. The attacker used several backdoors we intentionally left in for MAGI access to telemetry data but never documented anywhere. Whoever did that attack knows our security measures down to the last byte."

Shephard _really_ didn't like the sound of that. – "More espionage?"

Yui shrugged. – "This time, I'm not sure. The MAGI was brought online well after my divorce so either Gehirn has a spy inside the AEL or a third party is responsible for this. Either way, our Evangelions are completely helpless against this new one. Now, on to our next matter: this Evangelion appears to wield several exotic energy weapons we can't make sense of." – She brought up a picture of the Evangelion firing that red energy vortex from its palm. – "Judging from environmental readings at the time, this is clearly some sort of radiological weapon but this?" – Another picture of the Evangelion's energy sword followed.

Shephard leaned forward to get a better look. – "You're right about that, doc. Who the hell would design such a weapon anyway?"

"The crew were just as surprised. If you would allow me to quote mister Hyuga: 'energy wings were already pushing it but a _beam saber_? What is this, some Gundam wannabe?'"

"Argh, none of this makes any damn sense at all!" – growled Shephard as he scratched his head. – "I need a goddamn drink..."

"Trade and consumption of alcohol and narcotic substances are forbidden on the facility's premises, colonel." – interrupted Yui. – "Mister Nagisa pestered me about it for weeks but I will **not** change my mind. This is a research facility, not a bar." – she added with annoyance.

"You know about his alcoholizing?" – asked Shephard with mild surprise.

"Of course. He had quite high blood alcohol levels during the initial medical examination when we recruited him as test pilot. I talked with him about it and as long as he keeps his drinking habits separate from his job, I will permit it. However, I will report him to the authorities the instant he violates our agreement."

"After what happened in the battle... he's probably off drinking right now." – murmured Shephard as he glanced at the various frames of battle footage.

* * *

><p>He was wrong.<p>

Kaworu was currently curled up in a shower stall, facing the wall with a melancholic expression. Judging from the fact he no longer heard the non-stop loud cursing from the other side of the wall, Asuka finally left for home. Not that the fact helped him in any way; it only intensified his gloom.

'_I failed... How did this happen?_'

He was so distracted he didn't even twitch when a pair of pale arms sneaked across his sides and hugged him from behind. – "Hey, sis." – he said wistfully as he felt a pair of soft mounds pressing into his back.

"I believe I owe you an apology." – he heard Rei's voice from next to his ear.

That statement surprised him. – "What for? I was the one who screwed up."

"I have failed you. I did not arrive onto the field of battle in time to assist you." – she whispered shamefully. – "As a _bushi_, I am honor-bound to my master. By endangering your life through my incompetence, I have brought disgrace to myself."

Warning bells started tolling in Kaworu's head. – "Don't come at me with that hara-kiri stuff now! I don't blame you for anything. In fact... it's probably better that you were late to the party." – he admitted reluctantly.

"How so?"

"That bastard pounded me and Shephard into the ground. I know you're an awesome fighter but that thing your Evangelion was tucked into didn't like something that can punch someone in the face."

'_He's right.'_ spoke up Tabris. _'That thing might have lots of weapons but if it comes down to exchanging blows, it's a death trap.'_

"If anything, I'm glad at least you are alive." – Kaworu finished with a smile as he laid a hand onto hers.

The hug tightened. – "...thank you."

* * *

><p><em>Next day<em>

"Target's in position." – reported the hooded girl from a rooftop as she observed Shephard entering a bar across the street. – "Move in."

"_Alright, I'm starting to have serious doubts about this being teamwork. I already did the fighting, why do I have to do the talking as well?_"

"Because he doesn't know _your_ face." – she replied curtly.

* * *

><p>"You look like someone who's havin' a really bad day."<p>

Shephard looked up at the voice, spotting a blonde teen leisurely leaning his back against the nearby wall. – "What?"

"Yup, I was talking to you." – The boy then tilted back onto his feet and looked at him with a pair of crimson red eyes. Shephard was immediately assaulted by a sense of familiarity but he couldn't quite place it. – "I'd like to stay and chat but I don't really have time. So long." – He then walked towards the exit but right as he passed next to Shephard, the man felt something land on his lap.

He realized it was an envelope containing a folded piece of paper. Although he did find the situation a bit suspicious (a classical example of covertly passing on information in spy films he watched), he decided to humor the mysterious teenager and unfolded it anyway. One side was written full of diagrams and equations he could make no sense of while the other contained a hard-scrawled message.

'_The Angel can regenerate any damage done to it while separated as long as only one half of it is attacked. Simultaneous attacks that inflict the same damage on both halves won't be regenerated. I cut off its wings so it won't fly any more; don't bother using A-type equipment, it can't take hits. Alternatively, physical contact forces the halves to merge and also confuses its splitting ability so it'll stay that way for a while; if you can stab it with the Lance of Longinus while merged, it won't regenerate or split while in contact with the Lance so you can keep hitting it.  
>PS: this was the first and the last time I bailed them out. If the shit hits the fan again, they're on their own! Also, don't tell the pilots about this message.<em>

_TK_'

Shephard instantly spun around to look towards the entrance but the teenager was already gone. – "What. The. _Fuck_...?" – he whispered to himself.

* * *

><p>"<em>Package delivered, cousin.<em>"

The girl released a long breath. – "Then we've cleared Condition 2. All we have to do now is sit and watch. Meet you at the rally point." – She lowered the binoculars and turned to leave when a breeze tugged on her hood. She caught the fabric and pulled it back to its place, tucking the errant lock of azure hair that escaped from underneath back to hiding. – "Satisfied now?" – she asked casually of the figure who walked out from behind a chimney that should've been far too thin for him to hide behind.

The man in the suit casually fixed his tie before answering in a slow rasp. – "But offf... _course_, miss Ikari."


	7. Chapter 7

_Geofront, AEL Headquarters  
>February 2, 2042<br>1145 hours_

"That... is quite a fantastic tale you have, colonel." – remarked Yui dryly when Shephard finished recounting his encounter with the mysterious youth an hour ago.

"Well, I didn't make it up to keep you entertained!" – the man spoke up indignantly. – "Does THIS look like my handwriting?" – He tossed the paper across her office table.

Yui examined the diagrams and her expression slightly changed. – "Some of these I recognize as mitosis formulas which seem to support the contents of the message... but it raises more questions than it answers. For example, this here" – she pointed at a spherical mass of six orbs – "looks like the core of an atom but I don't understand its significance. It also references a 'Lance of Longinus'; ever heard of it?"

Shephard shrugged. – "I was hoping you did 'cause I have no idea what's that supposed to be."

"I didn't but I will research the phrase." – she reassured him. – "As for the rest of the message, what is your opinion?"

Before he could answer, her terminal threw up a maximum-priority incoming message. – "Excuse me..." – she absently directed at him as she opened the channel. – "What is it?"

"Ma'am, we have a situation!" – came Maya's voice. – "Orbital surveillance detected a large but faint thermal signature from the A-1's location; the cloud cover is making visual confirmation impossible but we believe the A-1 has gone active again!"

Yui closed her eyes and slowly exhaled before answering. – "Thank you. Keep me informed." – she answered before turning back to the man. – "I believe you heard it as well."

Shephard lightly punched the armguard of his seat in annoyance. – "Daaaamn... I thought we'd have some more time before it comes after us again. And after the asskicking it received, I bet it's pissed as hell."

"Colonel, I'm not interested in doomsaying." – she interrupted. – "I need options as soon as possible."

The man spent nearly five minutes pondering and muttering to himself then looked up. – "I have an idea but we'll need to trust whoever wrote that message."

* * *

><p><em>NagisaShephard Apartment, Tokyo-2  
>1326 hours<em>

"Alright kids, here's what we know." – Shephard began as the pilots assembled into his apartment. – "The Angel is coming right here, right now. Doc says we have nearly a week until it gets here so I asked the military to leave it alone because we're setting up a trap."

"That's a bluff, isn't it?" – stated Asuka dryly.

The man nodded grimly. – "It is, but they don't know that. Naturally, I'm risking my career big time with this stunt so don't let me down, kids!"

"What is your proposition?" – asked Rei.

"Doc says they found a weakness in the Angel. As you already saw, the two halves will regenerate each other. BUT! If you hit the same part at the same time, it won't regenerate or something like that. Therefore, we need two people who can work together and coordinate their attacks."

Rei nodded. – "Nagisa and myself shall take on this task."

"Hey!" – interjected Asuka. – "What about me?"

Shephard nodded in Rei's direction. – "Nice try and usually I'd agree with it, but right now I want the assault team to be Asuka and Nagisa."

"_**WHAAAAAAT?**_" – the two teens screamed in horror.

"I'm not going to babysit this rookie again!" – protested Kaworu loudly.

"Who are **you** to call **me** a rookie?" – snarled back Asuka. – "If I remember correctly – and I _do_! -, last time you went up against that thing you got fragged faster than you could say 'dorkface'!"

"It's not my fault, that asshole refused to fight one-on-one like a true man!"

Before the argument could escalate further, Shephard quickly broke it up. – "If you two would **SHUT THE HELL UP**, I would explain why I want this arrangement!" – That worked: the teens grumbled a bit more and sent death glares at each other but fell silent. – "It's kinda obvious to me you two hate each other's guts. Both of you are wannabe hotshots but the only thing I saw in the last battle was a FUBAR with zero coordination or teamwork. Asuka, you even refused a direct order from your superior out of a personal grudge against someone else. Do you think you could do that in the military and get away with it? They'd court-martial your ass, as you just put it, 'faster than you could say dorkface'." – The girl growled at her insult being thrown right back into her face but said nothing. – "That simply won't do if your lives depend on each other. You two have to learn to work together, no matter what."

"And how are we gonna do that?" – asked Kaworu skeptically.

Shephard smiled dangerously. – "I'm just getting there. From this point on, you two are in special teamwork training. Until after the battle, you are forbidden from leaving each other's sight for _anything_ other than using the bathroom. You are also excused from school and can't leave the house for any reason. You'll dine together, spend your day together and sleep next to each other."

"This is ridiculous!" – exploded Asuka in indignation. – "I'll **never** do that!"

Shephard smiled dangerously. – "If you refuse, I'll tie you two together with this." – He said as he lifted a large spool of nylon cable.

Kaworu saw Asuka turning whiter than the wall so he hazarded a question. – "What's that...?"

"Three point five meters of prime-quality detcord." – answered Rei nonplussed. – "The pentaerythritol tetranitrate filling explodes at the speed of approximately 6.5 kilometers per second with enough force to trigger commercial high-explosives of average sensitivity."

Shephard sweatdropped. – "I have _no_ idea where she got her facts from but she's right. I had a hunch this might prove to be sufficient... _motivation_, so I borrowed some from one of my contacts in the Army. I'm no combat engineer but even I know how to use this." – When he said this, his mind flashed a distant memory.

"_Who needs a locksmith, eh, corporal?" – the engineer grinned as he connected the blowtorch to the fuel tank and fired the small device up. Shephard ignored the metal door's groaning protest as the high-temperature flame cut through it and instead let off another burst towards the doorway the squad just came through to keep the Black Ops trooper hiding there suppressed. It wasn't until the sapper finished his work and kicked the door in that he thought the Ops might have prepared for this as well. And his theory was confirmed when the now hinge-free door triggered the laser sensor behind it. The soldier didn't even have time to yell in alarm before the sentry gun filled him with enough bullets to kill him three times over._

He was shaken out of his musings by Asuka's voice. – "You said we can't leave until after the battle?"

"Nope."

"And when will that be?"

"If all goes as planned, on the 10th." – the man answered. He saw Kaworu wincing slightly. – "Got anything else planned?"

"Uh, no." – Kaworu said but he shared a look with Rei and cursed inwardly. '_That's the day the shipment arrives! How the hell are we going to do the heist if I'm not there?_'

'_Tough luck._' quipped Tabris.

* * *

><p><em>1856 hours<em>

"I'm only going to say this **once**!" – growled Asuka as she stood in front of the bathroom door. – "Peek and you're **DEADER THAN DEAD**." – With that, she marched in and forcefully slammed the door behind her to punctuate her statement.

Kaworu scoffed as he sat down with his back to the wall, as per Shephard's instructions. – "Like I'd want to in the first place..." – He was already in quite a foul mood due to the Angel's timing; Rei volunteered to tell the others but Kaworu knew the operation was a bust without him.

"Yeah, right. I bet you've seen _Ikari_ plenty of times, didn't you?" – came her voice underlined with the rustling of clothes.

She only meant it as a rhetorical question but Kaworu, clueless as he is, took it literally. – "Don't know; haven't really counted."

A loud crash sounded from behind the door. – "**I WAS ONLY KIDDING! DID YOU REALLY OGLE HER?**"

"I didn't 'ogle' her! She doesn't care if it's me!" – he replied indignantly.

A short silence followed before her incredulous answer. – "I suspected you two are attached at the hip but this...! At least tell me one thing: how many times did you do her?"

It was at this point that Kaworu realized what she was implying. – "What, wait a damn second! I didn't mean it like _that_!" – he yelled, slightly sickened by the very idea of doing _that_ to his – admittedly very attractive – sister.

"I seriously have no idea why I didn't see that one coming. She already clung to you like a leech..." – she kept grumbling, completely uncaring of his attempts to explain.

"I'M SAYING, IT'S NOTHING LIKE THAT!"

* * *

><p><em>2134 hours<em>

"I'll be taking a look twice every hour, so no funny business!" – said Shephard as the two teens prepared for the night in the living room. Naturally, there was no way he'd let either sleep in the other's room.

"No need for that, Dad." – Asuka growled as she put something under her pillow. – "I'm keeping this with me and if he so much as twitches, I'm taking the safety off." – She still remembered vividly how she came to be in possession of what was currently her second most treasured object in the world.

"_Doc told me about you volunteering for the project. I'm letting you do this, but I'm NOT happy about it."_

"_Don't worry, nothing will happen to me." – Asuka assured his father as she drew him into a hug._

"_God, I hope not. I can't lose you too." – he whispered as he returned the hug. – "Speaking of which... you know why I'm letting you do this, right?"_

"_Because I'm not a little girl anymore?"_

"_Partially. Look, kiddo... the government more than doubled the defense budget this year. I heard they're also running several big research projects and billions of credits are being funneled into the infrastructure over at Proteus. I've no idea why but bottom line is: something's up and with me pushing 66 next year, I might not be around to hold your hand forever."_

"_Don't say that-" – she tried to interrupt, only to get interrupted in turn._

"_I'm not finished. You need to take care of yourself from one day on. But with the responsibility this job needs... I think you're old enough for this." – he said as he pulled out a small case._

_Asuka opened the case and her jaw hung open. – "This is..."_

"_An old Beretta M9; authentic model, made before Second Impact. It was my old sidearm but it still works; take care of it and it'll take care of you." – He smiled at the girl's awestruck expression and ruffled her hair. – "Happy birthday, kiddo."_

She smiled in fondness to the memory as she squeezed the pistol's grip before pulling her arm out from beneath the pillow. She wasn't surprised by it much; she knew her father was a soldier before Second Impact but that topic was taboo in the Shephard household. Asuka was told her mother knew about it before her death but that was it: he didn't want to talk about his past and Asuka didn't press. She did research the weapon though and found the model was a modified Beretta 92F made for the armed forces of the old USA; that explained his reluctance with the topic as the cold-blooded massacre carried out by the USMC Hazardous Environment Combat Unit during the attempted cover-up of the Black Mesa Incident resulted in the US very rarely getting mentioned in a positive light by the current administration. It didn't matter now that the US was gone anyway, obliterated by the gigantic portal storm that engulfed North America just hours prior to the Combine invasion and which was still raging across the ocean from where Asuka currently was.

Just prior to turning the lights off, she turned towards Kaworu who was already lying on his doss. – "One warning, Nagisa-" – she began.

"**I KNOW.**" – he cut her off, voice raised in an annoyed tone. Asuka harrumphed and killed the lights.

* * *

><p><em>Three days later<em>

"I don't believe this!" – screamed Asuka as she threw the controller at the screen in rage. – "How can you suck at this so badly?"

"I can't help it, they keep killing my guys!" – the boy protested.

"How do you expect to win if all you do is keep spamming Assault Marines and Dreadnoughts with no ranged backup?" – the girl raged on. For some unfathomable reason, Shephard's idea of making the two work together involved them playing real-time strategy games all day long. Hyuga helped by procuring a pile from somewhere Shephard didn't want to know. While Second Impact killed off consumerism pretty much completely, the government tolerated development of war games for the most part; they even actively supported the development team of a game that was being made from the Black Mesa Incident for propaganda purposes.

"**You** are supposed to be the backup, Asuka." – quipped Shephard from behind, watching the screen like a hawk. – "And you are right in one way: he could've turned that around several times by flanking the enemy's ranged troops."

"See? I told you so!" – she shot off in Kaworu's general direction.

"I'm not finished. While he was bleeding out, you were just standing by and waiting."

"That was part of my plan!" – she retorted. – "By the time the enemy plows through him, they should be weakened and no match for my Crisis Suits so how come I still lost?"

The man shook his head. – "That's not how you fight a battle in real life. Casualties are irrelevant in a video game but in real life, even a single death means you've failed your men. And the reason you got overwhelmed was because while you were waiting for Nagisa to bleed out, the enemy didn't stop procuring reinforcements so your numerical superiority was negligible and momentary. You gave up the initiative and were forced into a battle of attrition you couldn't win as your enemy had access to more resources, not unlike how Overwatch lost the upper hand when we knocked out their transhuman production facilities. It's a mistake I didn't think you would make, knowing you." – Asuka tried to think of a retort but she realized her father was right: it was completely unlike her to not pressure the enemy but hang back and wait. – "But at least you're starting to become more cautious. That in itself is good." – He motioned towards the screen. – "Again."


	8. Chapter 8

_This chapter finally closes the Israfel arc, with the next beginning the season proper. I might have gone a bit over-the-top with its length (7500 words!) and content but you can take it as my way of saying sorry for the delay. Not to mention that **damn** if it wasn't fun writing it!_

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo-2<br>November 9, 2042  
>1956 hours<em>

"How are things on your end?" – asked Shephard as he nibbled a bread roll with one hand while holding the wheel with the other. The scout buggy he was driving was military property, provided by his superiors on a temporary basis during his assignment on Earth. Its design was quite popular due to being loosely based on the one the nigh-legendary Gordon Freeman used during the Uprising, albeit not quite as popular as the Dodge Charger Mk2 "Muscle Car" based on his personal ride. Shephard didn't give a damn; he learned driving during his teens and didn't care for showing off so he had no problem with driving the buggy on the city's streets.

"_Everything is on schedule._" – came Yui's voice from the handsfree loudspeaker on the dashboard. – "_We'll be ready to commence your plan tomorrow._"

"Thanks. Make sure your girl will be ready and I'll make sure my kids will be too."

On the holographic screen, Yui raised an eyebrow. – "Expecting a problem, colonel?"

The man sighed. – "Nah, but my superiors have been nagging me to mop this mess up."

She smiled thinly. – "Are you still upset about two days ago?"

"Yup. Serves 'em right for not listening to me." – Despite Shephard's objections, the Navy tried to blow the incoming Angel to smithereens with an airstrike – with the expected results. Engineers were still trying to get the two crippled destroyers into the air long enough to make it to the nearest drydock. Afterwards, several Navy officers accused him of intentionally failing the previous ground-based interception attempt to provoke the failed aerial attack in order to make the Navy look bad. Naturally, it royally pissed Shephard and numerous other Army officers off and the disagreement degenerated into another inter-service brawl with high-ranking officers hurling insults at each other's heads until Commander-in-Chief Calhoun intervened and threatened both parties with bad conduct courts-martial which got them to back down. – "Not like they would've, anyway; most of 'em flyboys are so high-and-mighty some days I'd really like to teach one the true meaning of flying." – At her quizzical expression, he added – "That is, a one-way trip from the stratosphere with no chute."

"Not recommended. Humans incapable of self-powered flight." – responded Moses in his trademark gabble from the other seat.

Yui's smirk drew into a full smile. – "_See the earth below / Soon to make a crater / Blue sky, black death / I'm off to meet my maker?_" – she quoted.

Shephard was, to put it mildly, surprised. – "Where'd you hear that?"

"Rei listens to all sorts of things. That one was something I first heard when she was nine." – She scoffed. – "At least that was actual singing, not the incoherent screaming she listens to these days."

"Aggressive music. Became popular among humans after Second Impact. Vortikind do not like it." – Moses added.

"Yes, yes, we know." – interrupted Shephard. Since their arrival into the city, Moses rarely frequented the apartment but instead spent his time either in the company of the AEL's Vortigaunt crew or in the apartment's bathtub. Even the story of him being Shephard's aide was a fabrication in order to have a reason for Shephard to bring him with himself to his assignments. It was a necessary lie to protect him and his skin needed frequent hydration, hence a ready access to a bathtub was convenient. – " Any idea where she got that?"

She shrugged. – "I don't know. Ask her yourself tomorrow."

"I'll do that, although..."

"What is it?"

"This was the first time we actually talked about something not work-related. Frankly, I was starting to doubt your ability to hold a normal conversation. No offense."

She waved dismissively. – "None taken, colonel. I'm only human, despite what some subordinates of mine might tell you. Now, I have work to do." – she abruptly said and the screen indicated the connection was terminated from the other side.

Shephard was still shaking his head later as he walked towards the door of his apartment. – "'Only human', my ass. Does she even _sleep_?"

"Definitely." – Moses answered. – "Humans incapable of functioning indefinitely without rest."

The man paused and slowly turned his head towards his companion. – "...that was a joke, buddy. After all those years, I see you still have no sense of sarcasm." – His attention was grabbed by the noise coming from their apartment.

"_-st had enough of your bullshit, Nagisa!_" – came Asuka's screaming voice from the other side of the door with a volume so high Shephard could clearly make out her words.

The man winced. – "Oh, this ain't gonna be good..." – he said to himself as he opened the door.

Inside he was greeted by a sight not entirely unused to during the last week: Asuka and Kaworu standing on either side of the living room exchanging insults and curses. This time however, he felt something was up: Nagisa was suspiciously silent while Asuka was in full overclock mode. – "I saw the footage of your third battle and while you're already so pathetic I can barely watch, you seem to suffer a sharp drop in competence whenever someone else is fighting alongside you! Why don't you just get off your high horse already and _think_? This is not a goddamn game or contest! This is **REAL LIFE**; you screw up and _people die_!" – The boy stumbled back as if he received a physical blow. Asuka saw the opportunity and decided to pound the iron while it's hot. – "And while I couldn't care less about you living or dying, you're not the only one who will suffer because of your screw-ups!" – Another stumble. – "And don't you **DARE** trying to make up some bullshit about 'dying for a worthy cause' or something like that! Dying for a cause? _For whose cause?_ It is sure as hell not theirs and if they die because you screwed up, that goes on **YOUR** conscience and yours alone!" – Kaworu was now in the doorway, gripping the wood so hard his knuckles went snow-white. – "And if you truly expect someone to give their life for you without even having a say in it, you're not the 'man' you always say you are but a _selfish asshole no better than the likes of Breen!_"

Shephard flinched hard; that was a VERY serious insult post-Occupation.

"I am not... selfish..." – Kaworu whimpered weakly in a feeble attempt to protest, eyes hidden by his gray bangs.

"Like hell you aren't! You treat all this the way I would expect that idiot Aida to do! You're not a soldier, not a warrior, _nothing_! The only thing that carried you this far is just sheer luck, nothing more! You refuse to see it but you're **NOT** cut out for this! Are you going to keep up this charade until someone else like Ikari dies from **YOUR** fault? Are you prepared to have that kind of blood on your hands? If not, do us a favor and _leave this job to the professionals, you pathetic excuse of a man!_"

That finally did it; the boy didn't answer but spun on his heels and fled the room. Seconds later, the entire apartment shook from the entrance door being shut hard.

Asuka scoffed. – "Coward... did he seriously think running away will make the problem go away?" – She turned towards her room but got face to face with a none-too-pleased Shephard. – "What? It's about time someone put him in his place-"

The man answered by forcefully slapping her across the face.

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>November 10, 2042  
>0956 hours<em>

"Why do something **always** have to go wrong?" – grumbled Shephard. – "We were going pretty OK – then this happens." – He gave the nearby Unit-02 a conspicuous death glare. – "**I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY WITH THIS!**" – he raised his voice so that the Eva's external sensors would pick it up. Even after the verbal nuke he unleashed on her yesterday, he still didn't think it would be enough after she completely screwed up the battle plan at practically the last minute.

So here they were, one of their pilots missing and the entire plan in ruins because one pilot can't overpower the Angel on her own and assigning both would leave them with no heavy fire support to eliminate the small fry. He tried stalling for time but with the Angel less than twenty kilometers from the city's border, he was getting increasingly more backed into a corner. The military sensibly evacuated every civilian from the Angel's path but Shephard knew that the entire Earth Defense Fleet was on DEFCON 3 and floating above Honshū right now, their railguns and kinetic guns pointed planetward and ready to blast the whole city to smithereens in case they fail. The only thing he was absolutely sure of is that due to the city's significant civilian population, President Keel didn't authorize a nuclear mission... _yet_.

"Doc..." – he shot in Yui's general direction as she was overseeing a minor tuning for Unit-00. – "If we survive this somehow and you want to fire her, I won't stop you."

"Understood." – she replied absently, not even looking up from her work.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Kaworu wandered the abandoned streets aimlessly. Asuka's accusations hit a very sore point as he realized the blonde was right: fighting and failing will result in innocents dying. And despite all his bravado, Kaworu didn't want that kind of blood on his hands. He didn't want to act like a little kid and run away either but he needed some time to sort things out for himself, hence why he didn't return home all night. Instead, he took refuge in one of his group's safehouses – man or not, it was still February and wickedly cold at night.<p>

Tabris wasn't any help, either. The mysterious entity talked to him less and less these days – why, he didn't know.

His musings were interrupted by the realization that he wasn't alone. At the intersection ahead, a lone hooded figure was watching him. Normally, Kaworu would ignore such things but he also knew the streets should be empty due to the alert. What's more, as soon as the figure knew it had his attention, it beckoned to him and ran off into a side-alley. Kaworu found the whole thing suspicious but right now his mind wasn't running in rational mode.

In the alley, he found the figure he mentally nicknamed Hoodguy leaning at the wall next to another alley, arms folded. – "What do you want?" – he asked.

Hoodguy visibly shrugged. – "Not me. Someone's got something to say and you'd better listen." – He lazily pointed at the other alley.

"_Haben Sie keine Angsssst; Ich möchte nur... zu reden._" _[Have no fear; I only wish to talk.]_ – the man in the suit remarked in German as he walked out from the other alley and faced him.

Kaworu narrowed his eyes. – "What do you want? I haven't got all day." – he growled back.

This seemed to set Hoodguy off. – "Who the fuck cares? Just shut up and listen to him, moron."

Mr. Suit smirked humorlessly. – "Patiencccce, young one. It would not do if you were to _kill_ missster Nagisa right here; we have more _pressing_ concerns to... attend to." – His words were promptly answered by Hoodguy silently giving him the finger.

Kaworu just watched the exchange with mild impatience. He wasn't good at reading people but even a complete moron could tell Hoodguy was a jerkass. Mr. Suit, however... he couldn't quite place it but there was something awfully creepy about the man. Maybe it was the slow and disjointed way he talked; maybe it was the suit which looked like something out of a pre-Impact conspiracy film; or maybe it was something else entirely. – "What do you want?" – he repeated himself.

Mr. Suit was about to answer when Hoodguy interrupted him. – "Ah, what the hell... it usually takes him about five minutes to say anything coherent so I'll handle this one." – He grumbled as he turned to Kaworu. – "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

Kaworu looked down. – "Not yet..."

"So you got told off, boohoo!" – said Hoodguy in a mocking tone. – "Do I see like I care?"

"But she was completely right. Who am I to decide who lives and who dies?"

Hoodguy however would have none of it. – "_So. What?_ Do you really think if you keep whining about it the situation will get any better? The instant someone says a single bad word to you, you wuss out and go angsting about it? Man, are you pathetic! What did you even become a pilot for? Suck it up and go kick some ass."

Kaworu stood in his place for nearly a minute before his expression hardened and he walked out of the alley.

As soon as he was gone, Hoodguy discarded his head cover and turned to Mr. Suit. – "Satisfied now?"

Mr. Suit fixed his tie. – "Indeed. Your handling of the... _seetouation_ was qui_ck_ and to the poi_nt_."

Hoodguy glared at him before taking one last look in the direction Kaworu left. – "Whatever... just don't make me do anything like this again. I'm not a fucking shrink. Now, take us somewhere we can watch the fireworks from."

Mr. Suit made a sound that vaguely resembled a chuckle. – "You do realllize you are in no... _position_... to give **me** orders... corrrreccct?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Everyone prepare for launch.<em>" – heard Asuka from the radio but her mind was elsewhere.

'_That idiot ran off, didn't he? Maybe I shouldn't have done that...'_ As soon as that thought formed, Asuka exiled it from her mind with extreme prejudice. _'No, he needed to be put in his place! Why did everyone wait for this long to do it, I have no idea. '_

"Unit-00, ready to go." – reported Rei. As soon as she heard about the argument between her peers, the girl became even more reclusive than usual. When it came to Asuka, however... if looks could kill, the younger girl would've ended up looking like someone who got mauled by a Hunter.

"Unit-02, ready to go." – said Asuka as she gripped the controls. She wasn't the scaredy type but she had a strong suspicion if she ever were to find herself alone with Rei, the result _really_ won't be pretty; hence she swallowed her pride in front of her pissed superiors and stuck close to them, even if it meant getting dressed down at least once per minute.

"_**Very much**_** so.**" – added Sekhmet with delight. The bloodthirsty AI has been itching for payback and here was her chance to do it.

Shephard's face popped up in both entry plugs. – "_Alright then, the Angel will enter the city from the northwest. You two are to-_"

"Unit-01 ready to go. Sorry I'm late." – butted in Kaworu as Unit-01's entry plug feed popped up.

"_Last second to the party, I see..._" – noted Shephard dryly. – "_Where have you been, kid?_"

"Airing my head out." – the boy dismissed the question. – "Are we doing this or not?"

"_We do. Just don't think for a second you'll get away freely for jeopardizing this operation._" – warned Yui. – "_Go ahead, colonel._"

The man nodded and turned back to the screen. – "_Listen up kids, the plan is this in a nutshell: we are to intercept that Angel before it enters the city proper or we're going to have some really nasty collateral damage on our hands._"

"Like the time I fragged that whip-wielding one?" – asked Kaworu with an embarrassed grin.

"_Much worse; we have half of the Defense Fleet above our heads watching us like hawks. The instant that Angel crosses the city border, they'll go to DEFCON 2 and start hurling tactical nukes at it._"

"_Sir?_" – came Hyuga's voice from off-screen. – "_I thought fleet officers can't initiate a nuclear mission without higher authorization..._"

"_That's partially right._" – Shephard answered. – "_Medium-yield 60 kT warheads require OF-9 or higher authorization to arm while high-yield 4 MT strategic warheads require personal authorization from the president or the Commander-in-Chief. Sub-kiloton tactical nukes don't need any authorization other than the announcement of DEFCON 2 or higher._"

"**Is that not excessive?**" – asked Lilith curiously.

Shephard shrugged. – "_The only other option they have is firing Hellfire non-nuclear incendiary munitions at it – that's the same weapon Asuka used against the last one – but there are two problems with that. First, the Hellfire is also a chemical weapon and releases some really nasty fumes. Second, the Angel's current path takes it right over a civil defense shelter and a single Hellfire can burn through several meters of concrete. Do the math._

"That... really sucks." – said Kaworu uncomfortably.

"No shit, Sherlock..." – grumbled Asuka in response.

"_Anyway, same hand as before: Unit-01 and Unit-02, you take point. Unit-00, you back them up. Is the F-type equipment ready?_"

"Indeed." – reported Rei in her usual disinterested tone.

"**No abnormalities, **_**Taisa-dono**_**.**" – added Lilith.

The man briefly turned away from the screen and towards Yui. – "_What'd she say?_" – As the scientist merely shrugged in a 'never mind' way, he turned back. – "_Riiight... we're pretty lucky the Angel comes now, of all times._"

"Why is that?" – asked Rei.

"_If it would've come a week later, we would be in very deep... MESS._" – he corrected himself but all three kids could see Yui scowling at his back. – "_Right after this battle is over, we're shutting down much of the cargo transport capability to the surface as the tech install the new high-speed catapult lifts for rapid deployment._"

"Convenient timing indeed." – admitted Rei. – "Although I am confident the Angel does not know it."

"_Anyway, enough chatter. We're commencing launch procedures._"

* * *

><p><em>Outskirts of Tokyo-2<br>Forty minutes later_

"Dogma, Unit-02. I've got a visual!" – reported Asuka as she spotted the Angel emerging on the hilltop. She and Kaworu were using the taller buildings to hide behind while.

"_Unit-02, Dogma. Understood. Commence interception._" – acknowledged Shephard.

"Dogma, Unit-02. Roger." – She lightly flexed her arms in the control system's harness – she wasn't unused to it as her Durandal uses a full-body motion trace system – then pressed the button under her right middle finger twice.

Outside, Unit-02 deployed its landspinners in response and stepped out from behind cover. – "Unit-01, follow me." – she ordered curtly before rolling out.

"Got it." – came Kaworu's response as he went after her, his lance at the ready.

Behind him, two large vertical pillars peeked over a hundred meters into the air above the cityscape. Those were only a part of Unit-00's F-type equipment; the actual equipment was the enormous suit of powered armor beneath the barrels. Unit-00 itself was suspended inside the torso with motion-tracers on its limbs; a small frame in front of the head kept larger objects from decapitating it while the rest of the body was behind an armor plate locked with explosive bolts. All of it was held up by two thick digitigrade legs.

While it was not part of the official specs, Yui was both surprised and pleased during the delivery of this first model as the designer at Gehirn took the liberty of taking the reactor holding frame on A-type equipment and putting _two_ on the suit then interlocking them with the controlling Evangelion's reactor. This not only more than doubled the operational time of the Evangelion using it but through specialized nozzles the savvy designer installed, F-type equipment could use the auxiliary reactors to store reaction mass and potentially "refuel" other Evangelions on the field.

At her inquiry for why the machine's hull was just bare metal, Shephard explained there's just no point to even bother with camouflage for something that big. No sneaking, no surprise attacks; this machine was only good at full frontal attacks. But when it came to that, no land-based weapon system in previous history had comparable firepower or even close to it.

On each forearm, three Rheinmetall MK225E triple-barreled Gatling autocannons placed in a triangular formation provided direct fire support in the form of 18 barrels spitting a combined barrage of _3600 rounds a minute_. The original weapon's 20mm bullets were far too weak for fighting Angels so the engineers quickly upscaled the weapon. The new E variant fired 175mm HESH rounds, each as long as a man's arm. Naturally, the original version's 1000RPM firing rate had to be decreased to a more manageable 200RPM so as to reduce barrel heating, recoil and most importantly, ammunition usage – the beast already ate through a ton of ammunition in twenty seconds and with the larger mechanism as well as explosive warhead came the risk of catastrophic misfiring should the weapon jam.

For indirect fire support, F-type equipment carried an MLRS on each shoulder. Each MLRS was composed of eleven launchers in three rows (4-3-4 launchers per row), with each launcher having its own autoloader. The missiles themselves were somewhat upscaled versions of the same 9K41 Strela-20 portable SAM/mortar hybrid used by the Army for anti-air and short-range rocket artillery purposes. Each missile was equipped with a fragmentation warhead and proximity fuse against air targets; against ground targets, the missile flew on a pre-programmed ballistic course then airburst above the target – at least the originals did. The savvy designer of the F-type equipment however didn't bother with designing a new warhead but instead put over a dozen original ones together into a cluster bomb that would release its submunitions at the airburst point, then the submunitions would also airburst at less than half the usual height, simultaneously increasing both saturation density and size of the affected area. It was a wickedly powerful anti-personnel weapon that could reduce entire battalions into mangled piles of flesh with a single salvo.

Finally, the entire collection was crowned by the single biggest punch ever to bestow land-based warfare. By deploying heavy-duty leg braces and sacrificing missile launch capabilities, F-type equipment could bring its dual heavy railguns to bear. While the massive heat and recoil made it a cumbersome weapon at best, at maximum power output the two barrels could accelerate their 250mm kinetic penetrator rounds to suborbital velocities – in all simulations Rei performed with the suit, she could accurately target and hit flying objects as high as the low stratosphere. On the other hand, repeatedly firing the railguns at maximum power is detrimental to their internal structure – something the designer warned about and Yui ordered tested in simulations; the first such simulation ended with the sixth firing spectacularly tearing both railguns out of their mounts and sending them flying for nearly a kilometer. There was no second simulation, nor a real test.

There were two things capable of stopping this monster of a war machine: the lack of close-combat equipment and the astronomical expenses at building it. Shephard's superiors took a single look upon the price tag and declared that funding more than one is out of the question, period. It was already hard enough to borrow a Navy carrier for fetching the suit from the factory on Proteus IV; building just a single platoon of them would completely bankrupt the entire military.

"_Unit-00, Dogma. Multiple targets approaching; take point and commence fire._" – ordered Shephard.

Inside Unit-00's entry plug, Rei slowly raised her head as she tightened the Rising Sun headband on it. – "Dogma, Unit-00. Order acknowledged." – She hooked her arms back into the control system and pressed the button under her left middle finger twice, causing the F-type equipment to deploy two landspinners on each leg – one just wasn't sufficient to move the several hundred ton war machine. – "This situation came about because I was weak... _no more_. Lilith, let us not keep them waiting. Initiate the music."

"**Understood.**" – the AI replied. Moments later, the entry plug was suffused by a high-pitched '**YAAYAYAYAYAYAAA!**'

_[BGM: Lita Ford - Betrayal]_

"What the hell...?" – asked Asuka in surprise at the loud rock music.

"_Where's that coming from?_" – followed up Shephard, directed at the CIC crew.

"_Unit-00's entry plug, sir. Open frequency._" – answered Hyuga's similarly surprised voice.

Meanwhile, Unit-00 accelerated to full speed towards the incoming enemies as Rei brought up the targeting display for the MLRS pods. As the weapon was designed to act like a mortar against ground targets, its targeting system contained a 3D map of the combat area updated real-time by the MAGI. As there was no air traffic above them, Rei didn't have to watch for friendly fire before impact so as soon as the projected impact area crossed over with the horde of alien creatures charging toward them, she reported – "Unit-00 with Type-F Broadside Assault System, beginning suppression fire." – and depressed the trigger.

Both MLRS pods instantly released a full salvo of rockets that soared above the battlefield and started falling towards the creatures. At about two hundred meters however, every single rocket split into six smaller ones that continued to fall for a few more moments before they simultaenously airburst.

The effect was immediate and gory. Every single creature caught under the bomblets was butchered by the brutal barrage of shrapnel from above, a thick carpet of yellow blood completely covering the ground for a moment.

It wasn't enough for Rei, however. – "Commencing assault." – she declared and the exhaust port between the suit's two reactors flared to life as the entire machine lifted off from the ground, its forward momentum resulting in a flat trajectory. Naturally, the booster was only good for short jumps but Rei only wanted a clear view of her target. – "Lilith, switch to autocannons. Manual targeting mode." – The MLRS targeting display disappeared and was replaced by two crosshairs, one for each arm. She didn't even wait for herself to finish aiming before she let loose, the six autocannons beginning their lethal symphony with enough volume to be heard clearly in the other Evas' entry plugs, even without external audio feeds.

"Hoooly shit...!" – Kaworu breathed as Unit-00 soared over him, guns blazing. – "I've never seen her so fired up!"

Asuka wasn't so distracted so she noticed the momentary opening. – "Quit gawking, idiot! We've got work to do!" – With that, she launched into rapid acceleration towards where Rei's shells fell.

Unit-00 was finally overtaken by gravity and fell like a rock, making landfall with an earthshaking rumble. Meanwhile, Rei was rapidly twisting her arms left and right, firing bursts into the crowd. – "For it was said, they had become... – she fired a burst to the left – "like these peculiar demons..." – she fired a burst to the right – "which dwell in matter but in whom no light may be found." – she chanted as she fired both arrays. The overpowered weapons did their job well as the HESH warheads' plastic explosive loads pancaked themselves against the carapace and detonated. HESH were designed for maximum damage against fortified targets like concrete structures and early tank armor so one could imagine the effect they had on organic targets. The critters didn't simply died, they were completely pulverized by even a single shell. With hundreds being fired, however...

It was a massacre.

Blood and pieces of flesh rained upon the mindlessly charging survivors as the merciless reaping continued. – "**Impressive...**" – grunted Sekhment with grudging respect. In less than twenty seconds, Rei killed nearly half of them and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon. She fired another salvo of rockets into the thickest mass of creatures before her leg braces deployed. She still kept firing the autocannons as the railguns slowly rotated into a horizontal position pointing straight ahead at Israfel's approaching form.

"_Rei, it's unlikely the shells can penetrate the Angel's AT-field at this distance._" – warned Yui.

"I am aware of that." – the girl answered before tilting the barrels down a little and firing.

An ear-splitting thunder sounded as both guns belched a long plume of plasma, their hypersonic shells crossing the multi-kilometric distance in a split second and impacting... the ground. The force of the impact resulted in a massive cloud of dirt shooting away from ground zero in a conical pattern. What was unusual is that some of that force was transferred to the debris as well, causing said debris to behave like shotgun pellets and accordingly butcher the critters in its way.

"Unit-00 to all other Evangelion units. Commence attack now; I shall remain here and keep the small targets away from your backs." – she advised as she saw the other two stopping by her.

"Are you sure?" – asked Kaworu.

"I am." – She glanced at the display that listed the F-type equipment's loadout – specifically, the lines stating **AUTOCANNON – 15%** and **MLRS – EMPTY**. – "My ammunition supplies are sufficient for the task." – she lied. She knew full well Kaworu would want to stay behind but she also knew doing so would mean giving up their momentary advantage. – "Go now."

Kaworu looked about ready to protest when he suddenly nodded and shot off with Asuka in tow. – "Okay, just remember: no matter what, **don't die**."

As the two were speeding across the bloody battlefield, Asuka finally mustered the patience to address Kaworu directly for the first time on the day. – "Listen, idiot... I know you don't like me and I sure as hell don't like you. But if we don't work together, those gung-ho idiots above us will start firing whether we're in the way or not."

"I know." – answered Kaworu solemnly. – "That's why we'll kick this guy's ass **right here**, **RIGHT NOW**!" – he declared with fire returning to his voice before skidding to a stop in front of Israfel. – "Hey, you! I hope you've been enjoying the euphoria of beating us once because it won't happen again!"

"_**You again.**_" – growled the Angel.

Kaworu grinned. – "So you are smart enough to recognize us. Good; now recognize and remember this!" – Unit-01 pointed one finger skyward as the other hand propped the lance on its shoulder. – "I don't know what you guys keep coming here for but this world is under **OUR** protection!"

Asuka buried her face in her hands. – "What an idiot..."

"_**For now.**_"

That got both teens' attention. – "What?"

The Angel slowly started circling them like a predator circles its prey, ready to pounce at the slightest sign of an escape attempt. – "_**You are so proud of your achievements at protecting this world from us, yet you remain ignorant of the truth.**_"

"What truth? All we've seen so far is your buddies randomly coming out of nowhere and raising hell without a single word!" – protested Asuka as Yui uploaded a transcription software into Unit-02 so that she may hear the Angel as well.

"_**We are not invading. We are merely reclaiming what is rightfully ours.**_"

"You know..." – growled Kaworu. – "All this vagueness without actually telling anything is really starting to _**ANNOY THE FUCK OUT OF ME!**_" – he screamed as he swung his lance at the Angel, forcing it to jump back.

"Don't just rush in like that, idiot!" – complained Asuka as Unit-02 strafed to the side, firing short bursts at the Angel that all reflected off its AT-field. – "That thing's still up! Back off Nagisa, I'm going to take it down." – she warned as she prepared to fire a dark energy blast at it.

"Don't bother, I got this!" – Kaworu answered eagerly as he leapt at the Angel, lance at the ready. Israfel merely raised the field again, seemingly intent on simply waiting until the charging Evangelion bounces off it... then its eyes flashed.

Remembering his battle with Shamshel, Kaworu knew what was coming and pulled up his own field. The bolt of energy lashed across the combatants and bounced off from Unit-01's rapidly approaching field... then from Israfel's field... then from Unit-01's again... the two rapidly enroaching fields corralled the blast, bouncing it back and forth until it was compressed by the two fields pressing straight into each other.

As soon as the fields touched however, the entire battlefield was shaken by a titanic shockwave. Rei who had just ran out of ammo was caught unprepared and the blast wave sent Unit-00 toppling on its back. She knew full well F-type equipment was too heavy to get back up on its own so she engaged the emergency ejection system. Outside, the explosive bolts keeping the frontal armor plate in its place fired and launched the plate away, followed by Unit-00 being violently expelled from the suit by the improvised ejection seat. Even before she landed, Rei immediately righted her Evangelion so that it would land feet-first before she drew Unit-00's sword and in a single fluid motion sliced a creature trying to leap at her in two. – "Turn not thy faces away from me...!" – she challenged.

In the epicenter, the collision of the two fields was compressing the Angel's blast smaller and smaller, increasing its brightness until it burned the cornea of anyone looking directly into it. The fields themselves were still struggling, expelling gravitational waves powerful enough to cause visible ripples in the air as space itself was shaken up by their force. Where the two fields touched, the waves gouged a deep trench into the ground spreading over a kilometer in both directions.

Finally, the fields could no longer oppose each other and both gave out, releasing the compressed energy sandwiched between them into an explosion that sent both combatants flying away from each other.

Unit-01 was the first to land, helplessly tumbling over a few times before it finally stopped. – "Ow..." – groaned Kaworu as Unit-01 slowly got up, its frontal armor dented and charred. – "I really didn't expect that..."

"Really astute observation there, professor..." – Asuka shot back with sarcasm. – "What now?"

The Angel obviously ended up worse: it had no benefit of metallic armor attached onto it, clearly demonstrated by the skin flaking off, revealing raw and burnt flesh underneath. – "That's gotta hurt like a motherfucker." – Kaworu observed. Right in front of their eyes however, a deep gouge formed on the Angel's body and it fell into two halves, both of which morphed into smaller versions that fluidly got up, albeit not completely without damage. And as the halves went toward their enemies, the dead critters at their legs were scooped up by tentacles and drawn into the legs where they... _melted_ into said legs, for lack of a better term.

"_I see._" – warned Yui. – "_They can absorb biomass to repair damage. The longer you draw this battle out, the stronger they'll become._"

"Hear that, Nagisa? Time to expedite." – added Asuka as she assumed a battle-ready stance. – "I'll take the left one, you'll take the right one. Remember, briefing said they can't regenerate if we hit them at the same place at the same time."

"Good enough for me, let's do this!"

The two split up, Kaworu running straight at his target while Asuka targeted hers. She fired off the dark energy blast at it... only to encounter no resistance as the ball hit the Angel and detonated, tearing one of its arms off at the shoulder. As the detonation sent the Angel stumbling back, the severed appendage floated in the air for a few moments before evaporating as the exotic matter canceled its mass before destroying it on the quantum level. – "It has no field up?" – Asuka asked, surprised. Before long however, she smiled dangerously. – "Excellent... it's playtime!"

"**Just what I was waiting for!**" – gushed Sekhmet happily. – "**BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!**"

At Kaworu's side, the fight was going in his favor. – "How'd you like this, punk?" – he taunted as he swiped at the Angel-half, cutting a quite deep gouge into it as it didn't get out of the way in time. – "You had your buddy with you last time but not now!" – He dodged a retaliatory strike. – "Besides..." – He didn't dodge the Angel-half's next attack but parried it with the shaft of his weapon, catching the Angel-half off-guard before he kicked it hard, forcing it to back off. – "If you're gonna fight dirty, expect me to do the same!"

Asuka was steadily circlestrafing her opponent, showering it with short bursts and backing away whenever it came too close for her liking. Not that she actually made any progress however, as the Angel-half kept regenerating. – "Idiot, time to finish this! How are things over there?"

"This guy's a pushover!" – Kaworu boasted as he quite literally bashed the Angel-half in the face with the rear end of his lance.

"Don't get complacent, we're not done yet! We're going to do what the briefing said, got it?"

"Yeah!"

She briefly stopped firing to quickly evaluate her opponent. – "Okay then; right arm where it branches off from the main body, on my mark. Ready?"

Kaworu parried another attack and forcefully pushed his own opponent away with a grunt. – "Bastard's not making it easy but say the word!"

She launched into a charge straight at the Angel-half and took aim as the weapon's charge indicator and vibration signalled the particle accelerator achieving maximum power. – "Three – two – one – _**NOW!**_" – she called out as she fired the high-powered particle beam point-blank into the Angel-half's shoulder and blowing a sizeable hole clean through it.

Kaworu roared and took the Angel-half's next attack without dodging or parrying as he went into an overhead strike, the blade cleaving the Angel-half's arm clean off and flaying its side. At the same time, Asuka revved up the beam rifle's bayonet and swung it upwards, literally sawing the same appendage off on her own target.

Both Angel-halves screeched and backed off, their yellow blood flowing onto the snow profusely. As time passed however, it became apparent their regeneration was no longer working: only the flayed skin of Kaworu's opponent and the ragged edges of Asuka's opponent healed, the rest didn't came back.

"_I see now!_" – Yui exclaimed in a 'Eureka!' kind of tone. – "_Both halves' regenerative ability uses the other half as the template! Damage on one is repaired by copying the other but damage on both can't be repaired because the template is damaged too!_"

"_I'm glad you solved that one but we don't have the time to do science! Kids, finish it off!_" – ordered Shephard.

Asuka rolled to "Alright, that was good! We'll do it again!"

Kaworu nodded and brought up his lance. – "Gotcha, what's the next target?"

There turned out to be no next target however as the halves fled at each other. As soon as they touched, their flesh bubbled and fused together as both lost their shape and morphed into the original, much larger form.

"Those bastards are merging back together!" – Asuka realized with alarm.

"Not if I can help it!" – Kaworu responded as he turned over his lance and drew it back above Unit-01's shoulder. – "**EAT THIS!**" – he screamed as he threw the large weapon at the now reformed but still charred Angel.

His aim was off however as the lance missed its target and thunderously impacted the ground harmlessly.

"**MORON!**" – Asuka barked at him. – "Is it _absolutely_ necessary for you to screw up at least once in _every single_ battle?"

"Alright, I'm sorry! Jeez..."

"_For cryin' out loud, if you two begin another argument right now, I will definitely be throwing you into the brig as soon as you come back!_" – Shephard threatened, which got the two teens back in line.

"I'm not the one who began it this time!" – Kaworu complained. – "Whatever... Shephard, go distract it!" – he said suddenly as Unit-01 rolled off on its landspinners.

"What are you-? Don't you dare leave me here!" – Asuka barked, to no effect. With nothing to do, she went into her routine of firing while circlestrafing. – "That bastard... I thought he can't use those things!"

"_The most difficult part at using landspinners isn't movement but-_"

"-staying upright. Yes, I know!" – she interrupted impatiently as she narrowly dodged a strike from the Angel. – "I used the real deal before!"

"_She did?_" – asked Hyuga distantly.

"_Yes, she's fully certified to pilot a battleframe in combat._" – Shephard answered. – "_Don't go and tell it to everyone, though._"

Asuka was having a really hard time: the Angel's continous attacks kept her on the defensive and as she tried to back away and shoot from afar, nothing happened. Instead, the entry plug threw up an error message.

**MECHANICAL FAULT DETECTED  
>ORDER IMPOSSIBLE<strong>

"Shit, not now!" – she swore as she retracted her malfunctioning landspinners. Israfel was on her in an instant; she revved up the bayonet to defend herself...

...and the Angel swiftly knocked it out of her hands. – "_Nagisa, where the hell are you?_" – she screamed.

She received her answer when the Angel's lower torso erupted into two red prongs. – "Gotcha, motherfucker..." – Kaworu grinned as he twisted the lance he just backstabbed the Angel with. The Angel tried to turn around but with Unit-01 holding the lance in place, the attempts only inflicted more damage. – "Nuh-uh-uh..." – the boy taunted mockingly as he grabbed the shaft tighter. – "You're not getting away this time!"

"**Irrelevant.**" – Israfel shot back, its voice showing no pain. – "**Enjoy your hollow victory, for you have attracted the attention of those infinitely your greater. Your achievements mean nothing, for your species does not have the power to stand against us.**"

Kaworu twisted the lance again. – "Don't count on it! Even if you defeat our bodies, our spirit will thirst endlessly for revenge!"

"**If you do not submit, you will die. There is no alternative.**"

"Bullshit. There is _always_ a third option, even if one doesn't realize it!" – Kaworu rebutted instantly.

"He's right." – added Asuka. – "We suffered species-wide genocide and slavery on _our own homeworld_, abjected and humiliated for two decades; the Vortigaunts suffered _even worse_! Who are _you_ to talk about preferring slavery over death?" – she continued as she reared back Unit-02's fist and drove it into Israfel's skull-like face with enough force to crack it.

"**You foolishly lament your loss, yet it does not compare to ours. You need not know any more; this exchange is over.**" – the Angel finished before going silent.

"Oh no, you don't!" – Asuka snarled as she kicked and punched it repeatedly while Kaworu held it in a stranglehold. – "What are you bastards hiding from us? _Why are you attacking?_ **TELL ME!**"

They were both occupied with interrogating the Angel they didn't notice the rising pressure in their lower bodies. What they couldn't ignore was the searing, rippling pain as both Evangelions' armor were ripped open from within as fleshy, veiny tentacles shot out and buried themselves deep within the Angel.

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>Same time_

In the control room, the entire crew was startled at the trio of painful screams coming from the entry plugs and the Angel as the Evangelions involuntarily gripped onto the Angel even tighter, the appendages connecting the three rippling and pulsating as if they were pumping something from the Angel to the Evangelions.

"Doc, what the hell is going on?" - demanded Shephard in a really angry tone.

What he saw was completely unexpected: the scientist actually looked _scared_. – "I don't know! Maya, status report!"

"Anomalous bio-readings from Unit-01 and Unit-02! Both Evangelions' vitals are fluctuating!" – the tech reported with alarm.

"Vitals? What the hell is she talking about?"

Yui ignored him. – "What about the pilots?"

"They're only feeling sympathetic pain."

"_I am on my way._" – Rei announced as Unit-00 sprinted towards the site.

"Still, we can't risk losing them! Mister Aoba, prepare to force-eject entry plugs!"

"Ma'am, they're still connected! If we sever the connection-" – protested Hyuga.

"**I KNOW**, just do it!" - Yui yelled back.

"Wait!" – interrupted Maya. – "The anomalous readings are gone..."

"What?" – asked Yui in disbelief as she looked at the main screen where both Evangelions stumbled away from the Angel as if drunk, the Angel itself collapsing to the ground as soon as the tentacles pulled themselves back into the Evangelions.

"Are you two okay?" – asked Shephard with a mix of suspicion and relief.

"_What.. the hell... was that?_" – demanded Kaworu through his painful panting.

"_It was like... a really bad period... cranked up eleven times...!_" – Asuka added, making Maya wince in sympathy. In Unit-00, Rei raised an eyebrow but only Yui noticed it.

"What about the Angel?" – asked Aoba.

On the screen, Unit-00 examined the motionless entity while Unit-01 pulled out the lance and Unit-02 leaving to fetch its beam rifle. – "_The core is cracked. I believe it is dead._" – Rei announced.

"And the small ones?" – asked Shephard, his brain already back to tactician mode.

"_**All of them ceased activity as soon as the Angel was impaled.**_" – replied Lilith.

"_All right!_" – Kaworu cheered, his sings of pain already gone. – "_That's another one for-_" – He was interrupted when Unit-02 bashed Unit-01 on the back of its head with the rear end of its beam rifle. – "_OW! What was that for?_"

"_That was for leaving me alone, jerk!_" – Asuka complained.

"_**That does not justify damaging company property.**_" – Adam pointed out.

"Nor endangering the operation by harassing mission-critical personnel just prior to deployment." – Shephard warned.

"_Oh, come on-_" – Asuka tried to defend herself but her father didn't even hear her out.

"No buts, I won't bail you out this time!" – He turned to Yui. – "What do you think, doc? Three days in the brig?"

The woman shrugged. – "If you believe that is best, I-."

"_That won't be necessary._" – Kaworu interrupted, suddenly losing his cocky grin and turning serious.

"What?" – asked Shephard and Asuka simultaneously.

"_I said that won't be necessary._" – Kaworu repeated himself with a slight annoyance.

"...I presume you're not pressing harassment charges against her, then?" – asked Yui.

"_Nope._"

* * *

><p>"Your task here isss... complete."<p>

Hoodguy grunted. – "Then my end of the deal is done. Your move."

Mr. Suit smiled humorlessly. – "Of... coursssse. I shall send you both to where you... _belong_." – And with twin flashes of orange and turquoise, they both vanished.


	9. Chapter 9

_Next chapter, sorry for the delay. For those of you who are following TEO, really big sorry for the over one month delay to that fic but a combination of school and ME2 completely diverted my attention away from writing. I still have to do exams between Christmas and New Year but I'll try to crank out the next chapter to TEO ASAP._

_Else: thanks to a suggestion from havocfett over at the Spacebattles forums, I began organizing supplementary material for the fic into Appendixes. This'll make my job easier as I don't have to struggle with organically writing that stuff into the fic itself (on the off-chance you're reading this: thanks, buddy!). The current list is:_

_Appendix A - timeline of events for the whole verse.  
>Appendix B - history of the Confederacy.<br>Appendix C - organization of the Confederate Armed Forces.  
>Appendix D - technical details on current weapon systems used by the CAF.<br>Appendix E - briefing on offworld colonies and the Waygate network._

_Any additions, suggestions, etc.? If you have, lay it on me.  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>1604 hours_

"While this operation didn't go exactly as I planned, there's only one thing to say." – began Shephard grimly before his expression drew into a grin. – "Now _that's_ what I'm talkin' about! Excellent job, you three!"

"What did you expect?" – boasted Kaworu. – "These goners don't know who the hell they're messing with!"

"Are you talking about yourself, again?" – asked Asuka darkly.

To her surprise, he drew his arms over her and Rei's shoulders and yanked them close. – "Nope. I'm talkin' about the three of us!"

Asuka quickly threw his arm off. – "Get your perverted hands off me! I'm not your girlfriend!"

"Neither am I." – rebutted Rei quietly. – "I am however content with this." – she added as she snuggled in closer.

"Anyway..." – Shephard continued with a sweatdrop. – "The three of you did one hell of an impressive performance out there which helped us convince my superiors that continued support of this project has merit. Therefore, the AEL has formally received an invitation to the technological expo in March."

"We're going public?" – asked Asuka, surprised.

"I'm not sure if it's the best time to do it but yes, we were ordered to prepare for a partial disclosure to 'boost the public's morale'." – The man shook his head in distaste. – "Politics... whatever. Again, good job, you three. One more thing." – He pointed at Asuka and Kaworu in turn. – "Both of you deserve some punishment for endangering the operation so you're grounded for two more days."

"_**Whaaaat?**_" – demanded Asuka in a panicked tone.

"Aw, hell..." – grumbled Kaworu. _'That's it, tonight's operation is busted. The others are gonna be pissed with me.'_ As he lamented his fate, he didn't notice Rei briefly looking at him.

* * *

><p><em>Twenty minutes later<em>

"Damn that idiot..." – grumbled Asuka to herself as she exited the shower and passed Rei. – "It's all yours." – she quipped as she walked towards the lockers. Rei merely nodded and left to where Asuka just came from.

As soon as she did however, Asuka threw down the towel and sneaked back to the passage. After all, if the other girl notices anything she can always blame the cold air...

"I require your clarification." – Rei asked suddenly, causing Asuka to almost slip in surprise.

"W-what?" – Asuka asked as she quickly retreated to the lockers.

"I did not understand your claim of 'a really bad period'. I require clarification."

Asuka guffawed. – "Gosh, I was talking about _that_ kind of period! What, are you stupid?"

"I would not know. I have not experienced such sensations myself." – Rei rebutted flatly, showing no signs of being insulted.

Asuka almost thought Rei was being sarcastic but she quickly realized that wasn't the case. – "What, your periods don't hurt?" – she pressed in a 'lucky bastard' tone.

"I do not have a monthly cycle."

"Oh." – replied Asuka as she started dressing, the answer perplexing her to no end. After a few minutes however, a terrible realization spread across her face. – "Shit... don't tell me you and the idiot take advantage of that to screw each other's heads off!" – she demanded while inwardly being envious of the fact.

"There is no reason for me to engage in sexual activity. Even if there would be, I am aware it would be inappropriate to perform such acts with him." – Rei replied with audible distaste, as well as a hint of... sorrow?

* * *

><p><em>Same time<em>

"They gave us quite the scare for a while, didn't they?" – asked Shephard as he and Yui walked into Unit-01's hangar.

"Indeed, colonel. I have ordered a full diagnostic on both Evangelions to find out what exactly happened."

The man briefly looked at the cracked holes in Unit-01's armor where those... _tentacle things_ exited. – "Anything so far?"

She shook her head. – "Nothing. Both Evangelions have a slightly elevated body temperature but we can't find the reason. They appear to have absorbed some biomass from the A-1 but once again, we don't know why or how that happened."

"Hey, you're the one who built these things! Why don't you know?"

Yui stopped in her tracks and glared at him. – "Let me put it this way then, colonel: we did not design the Evangelions to perform bio-assimilation. They just did something that was not to spec. This should not have happened, yet it did; we are talking about something on the magnitude of the MAGI spontaneously singing soprano for no apparent reason."

Normally Shephard would've guffawed at such a completely random remark but such things coming from _Yui_ of all people indicated the real magnitude of things. – "...right."

"I'm glad we understood each other." – She turned to the work crew. – "Maya, how is the diagnostic proceeding?"

"_Nothing yet, ma'am._" – answered the tech over the intercom. – "_We're about to interface with the core directly._" – The technicians swarming the chest section then steadily streamed away as loud clangs resonated around the hangar. The device then withdrew a bit, detaching the armor plate before rising up to the ceiling. – "_Frontal plate 3 detachment complete._"

Yui heard a sharp intake from behind her. – "What the f-?" – Shephard started before she interrupted him.

"Language, colonel." – she warned as she glared at him.

"Sorry doc, but still! What the heck is _that_ doing there?" – he shot back as he pointed at the uncovered strip of the Evangelion: smooth brown skin framing a large, dull red core partially overgrown with what looked like veins. – "You call _**that**_ 'nothing'?"

"Oh, you mean the core? Evangelions have cores as well." – she answered casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Since when?"

"They always had; it contains a unique neural network that stores the AI but nothing else. Why did you think the chest is the most heavily armored part?" – she pointed out.

"Doc... I'm no good when it comes to scientific mumbo-jumbo but there's one thing I _really_ hate: being kept in the dark for reasons I'm not told." – he growled. – "I want to know what the Evangelions really are."

Yui shook her head. – "Out of the question. The military must not-"

He swiftly rebutted with enough volume to attract everyone else's attention. – "I couldn't care less about the brass, _**I want to know what the hell my daughter rides in on a regular basis!**_"

Yui contemplated that statement for a while before she suddenly snapped at the eavesdroppers. – "Is there a problem I should know about?" – As the technicians sheepishly returned back to their work, she directed her attention back to the still glaring Shephard. – "I suppose your concerns are well-founded, colonel. What day is it?" – she asked as she looked at her tablet.

"Thursday, why?"

She checked if any of the workers were looking in their direction then she leaned in close. – "Three days from now, at midnight. Meet me at my office and I'll show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." – she whispered with urgency before marching over to Unit-01 and switching to scientist mode.

The man looked after her with puzzlement before shrugging and strolling out with hands in pockets. _'At least I got something out of her...'_

* * *

><p><em>NagisaShephard Apartment, Tokyo-3  
>2314 hours<em>

Kaworu turned in his bed again. After the victory today, he should've been content and relaxed – but he wasn't. While he sorted his issues out somewhat, some of the wounds Asuka inflicted on his pride the day before were still bleeding and would stay that way for quite a while.

Time heals all wounds... but there are some that will never heal completely. These scars will hurt and fester for all life as an eternal reminder of one's failings. For perfection is but an ideal: seductive yet unattainable.

He heard the door of his room quietly open and feigned to sleep, listening for the sound of his hand-made anti-intrusion system. If it was a burglar, the person is going to get a nail shot through his ankle in a few moments; it might appear excessive or even outright insane to some that he would build such a thing but he knew from experience that most homeless people avoid shelters because some are prone to stealing each other's stuff. While Kaworu didn't have to worry about that now, he still built and maintained the device to keep his tinkering skills sharp. He didn't hear the distinct sound of the electromagnets firing and he checked the device before going to bed so he knew it wasn't malfunctioning. Which meant the intruder knew about the system's presence and stepped over the tripwire.

What he heard instead was the soft paddle of bare legs before a weight pressed down upon the other half of the bed. Surprised, he turned around...

...and came face to face with a waterfall of blonde hair. – "Idiot, are you awake?" – he heard the girl ask.

"Yeah."

"Then turn back around." – He obeyed without complaint. After a minute, Asuka continued. – "Don't have any funny ideas; I only want to talk."

"About?"

She sighed. – "Listen... I didn't come here to apologize."

"I didn't expect you to."

"You didn't?" – she asked after a momentary silence, audibly surprised.

"Nah. I didn't want to run away like that, but... I needed some time alone to sort things out with myself. You were right; I wasn't thinking about the consequences of failure. So... I should be the one thanking you, I guess." – he admitted.

"You're... welcome."

"However, don't try to talk me out of fighting. You were right in saying that screwing up will result in people dying. But if I just stand by and do nothing, they'll die anyway; in fact, even _more_ people will die. You asked if I can accept the blood of innocents who died because I failed; my answer is, can _you_ accept the blood of innocents who died because you had the chance to prevent it but didn't take it? What's worse, killing by failure or killing by inaction? Is there any difference at all?" – he ranted.

"I... I don't know."

"Let me answer that for you. There is only one difference: if they die by your inaction, there's no way to lessen your pain by shifting the blame onto anything or anyone else."

"There's still a chance you fail." – she argued.

"But you'll never achieve anything if you don't even try!" – he argued back.

A long silence was followed by her quiet answer in a defeated tone. – "OK, you got me there. I wasn't thinking of that."

"Damn right. And that's why I said don't expect me to back off. A man must stick to his principles no matter what."

Asuka rolled her eyes at that. – "Yeah, right..." – Another long silence was followed, broken by her question. – "Hey, idiot... why did you accept this job?"

Kaworu was tempted to answer _'Because the boss basically blackmailed me to do it'_ but he had a hunch Yui wouldn't appreciate that. – "At first, I piloted because it was fun. But now... I think I do it because I don't want anyone to die because of me. I couldn't live with myself otherwise. What about you?"

He heard more rustling and felt her sit up before something dangled into his sight. It was a large green stone without any orderly features. – "...see this?" – he heard her voice from behind and above, making him realize she was now leaning above him.

"Yeah."

"It was my mother's. Dad says she always carried it with herself." – she whispered quietly as she drew it back into her hand.

"Heard what happened to her. It really sucks."

He felt her sigh on the back of his head. – "Let me guess: either dad told you or Aida spied on me, right?"

"Both." – he admitted.

She rolled her eyes. – "Figures... what do you know?"

"That she was... you know... right in front of you." – he answered, reluctant to just bluntly say it.

She paused for a few seconds. – "All true. But not the whole truth."

"What do you mean? If you don't mind me asking, that is." – he added quickly.

"When I got old enough, dad told me everything. When the commandos broke in, she was lying on top of me – already dead. The forensic guys found she died from blood loss caused by close-range gunshots with entry wounds on her back." – She sighed before continuing. – "Who or whatever shot her... she was shielding me from it."

Kaworu winced in sympathy. – "Fuck... I had no idea."

"Don't try to patronize me, Nagisa." – she snapped. – "She died protecting me because I couldn't protect myself."

"You were only a kid, how would you protect yourself from an armed guy?"

Asuka shook her head. – "Doesn't matter. I know she died _because_ of me... and I don't want that to happen again. I'm an only child and I don't have cousins or grandparents – never had the former and the latter died during Second Impact. This..." – she waved the stone – "and dad are the only things I have in this world. And if piloting an Evangelion is what I need to keep them, I don't give a damn how dangerous it is. I'm not weak anymore, I'm _not_ going to depend on others again." – she declared with resolve.

Kaworu sighed. – "We're more similar than one would think, you and I. We both have something to protect: you want to protect yourself so that others won't have to while I want to protect my buddies and generally everyone who doesn't deserve death."

"Buddies, huh? Does that include Ikari?"

"You and her both."

Asuka snorted. – "Flattering. Just don't expect me to fall to my knees and lick your feet. I have my own pride." – she warned.

Kaworu shook his head with amusement. – "Don't I know it... you two are the manliest women I ever had the fortune of knowing personally."

"I think I didn't hear that right. Was that a compliment coming from the guy with more testosterone than common sense, directed at a girl?" – she teased with a smirk.

"I know... irony's a bitch, isn't it? You kicked ass out there today."

"You too, idiot. I guess you're not all talk and no guts after all."

Kaworu thought about his group and grinned to himself. _'If only she'd knew...'_ – "So... what now?"

"I told you, I'm not going to cut you any slack or you'll get too complacent and screw up again. Though... I guess we could call a cease-fire for now."

"Fine by me."

"Good. And remember, not a word of this to anyone or I'll _**end you**_." – she finished before he heard her get up and leave without any further words.

The rest of the night went over with silence.

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo-2, Outer District 12<br>0146 hours_

On the other side of the city, the silence of the night was interrupted by a convoy of four trucks sneaking up the road leading into the city from the southwest.

In the lead truck, the driver casually said to his companion – "Boss, I gotta take a leak."

The burly man on the other seat shrugged. – "We're ahead of schedule anyway." – He lifted a radio to his face. – "We're taking a break. Everyone go stretch your legs, take a piss, whatever; we're not stopping after this one."

As the trucks stopped and their engines went quiet, their occupants streamed out and scattered on the street. Some went to get some privacy, others lit cigarettes with the glow of smoldering tobacco being the only clearly discernible feature in the thick fog.

Nobody saw the rearmost man getting caught in a stranglehold and yanked into the darkness without a sound.

"Hurry up, man!" – complained one standing at an alley.

"Shut it, asshole! I'm pissin' as fast as I can!" – snapped back another from the alley. Just as the last word left his lips, a pair of black-clad legs suddenly caught his neck in a vice-like grip. The attack happened so fast he couldn't do anything more than a surprised grunt before the legs forcefully swung his body upward in an arc, sending him flying upward upside down for a second before a small knife lodged itself in his neck at just the right spot to shred his vocal chords. There could be no cry of pain before the sound of a suppressor echoed across the alley and the man fell to the ground silently with a hole in his forehead.

"The fuck are you doing?" – the other asked as he peered into the alley. As his eyes fell upon the corpse, he was about to warn the others-

One of the smokers finally noticed the missing man. – "Hey, where's-" – He was interrupted by a loud report before collapsing to the ground, headless.

"**SNIPER!**" – the leader yelled and everyone scrambled for cover, though not before another shot rang out and one guy collapsed with a pained scream, his left leg severed at the knee.

"Who the fuck is it? That's gotta be at least a semi-auto!" – one snarled as he tried to get a better look.

"Who the fuck cares what he's shooting at us with!" – snapped back the leader, ignoring the weakening cries of help from the legless thug lying on the street. – "Did anyone saw the flash?"

"I think it came from there!" – someone replied as he pointed at the roof of the building on the other side of the street.

"Get down, _ahōyarō_! You wanna get your head blown off?" – his companion snarled as he yanked him down.

After a minute of bickering, the leader spoke up. – "I think that sniper's gone so let's get the hell outta here!"

As his men moved to comply, a black shadow dropped down from the lamppost next to one of them. Before he could aim his gun, the shadow charged at him and the glint of metal was followed by the shadow jumping into the fog and the man slowly collapsing as his face literally fell off his head with a clean cut.

"Holy sh-" – another began before a quiet **thump** sounded from the fog and the point-blank hit from the 40mm HE grenade tore him into bloody shreds.

The entire gang spun and blindly unloaded their weapons into the fog, the loud **CRACK**s shattering the silence of the night. – "Boss, there's a fucking _**ninja**_ out here!" – one swore as soon as everyone realized they were wasting ammo and ceased fire.

"Did we get that bastard...?" – another whimpered in near panic.

His answer came in the form of a throwing knife embedding itself in his left eye as the shadow shot out of the fog. Everyone still alive immediately opened fire but the shadow's erratic weaving made all bullets miss. It finally launched itself at the space between two men, whipping out a pair of giant revolvers and soaring through the air in a crucifixion pose. As the shadow passed between them, both revolvers fired and the men simultaneously flew in opposite directions, their heads turned into bloody stumps.

Before the last two survivors could train their guns on the intruder, the shadow landed in a quick roll and launched into another leap back into the fog.

"Screw this!" – one of the survivors snapped and ran to the frontmost truck, tearing the door open and jumping into the driver's seat. When he started the engine however, movement caught his eye from ahead. As he looked up, his eyes went wide and a scream of terror exploded from his throat before the flying car impacted the windshield and pancaked the whole compartment, instantly killing him.

Seeing this, the surviving leader dashed into an alley. As soon as he made sure it was a dead end, he trained his weapon at the only entryway and waited. – "Come on, you little prick... where are you?" – he growled.

Suddenly he felt a warm breath on the back of his neck. – "Right behind you." – a voice whispered before the leader's body seized and a sharp blade burst through the top of his skull. Only a gurgle could be heard as he twitched a few times and went limp; then his body shook again as the blade retracted back into his body and finally out of his back where it invaded in the first place.

Satisfied on the result, Rei swung her whipfist a few times to shake most of the blood and other bodily fluids off before transforming it back into her arm. As she left the alley, she went to the still whimpering man she knifed in the eye and swiftly snapped his neck to spare him of any more suffering before retrieving her knife and cleaning the pulpy white remains of the eyeball off it. Slipping the weapon back into its socket, the girl silently crossed herself with a quick prayer for the man's soul; she felt he was utterly terrified and in no condition to fight and she usually doesn't kill harmless opponents but she couldn't risk leaving witnesses this time. Even if they don't reveal her face to the authorities, their employer's retaliation would most likely leave them dead anyway for their failure. From where she stood, killing the man was an act of mercy from a sinful soul.

With the crew taken care of, she turned her attention to the trucks themselves.

It was going to be a long night for her.


	10. Chapter 10

_I'm here again. I actually wanted to include the first half of this chapter into the last one but forgot about it. As for the second half, I was hesitating whether to write it or not then decided 'hell, I need filler anyway'._

_I'm in kinda high spirits now as I just found out exactly how lenient my new university is: apparently the rules say they won't expel me as long as I don't fail any particular subject thrice no matter how bad I actually do at subjects I do pass._

* * *

><p><em>NagisaShephard Apartment, Tokyo-2  
>Next day<br>0658 hours_

Kaworu was woken from his sleep by a loud – "Would you wake up already, you lazy idiot?" – He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before looking.

Asuka was standing next to his bed with both hands on her waist. – "Well? Are you going to drag your ass out of bed today or you want both of us to be late?" – she sneered.

"Leave me alone..." – he grumbled as he laid back. – "What the hell do you want, anyway? I never leave this soon..."

Asuka however would have none of it; with an annoyed grunt, she grabbed his shoulder and yanked him onto his back once more, the stone hanging from her neck bobbing from the sudden movement. – "Not this time. I know Ikari hauls your ass to school each day but she called in sick so you're going to have to walk, like it or not."

The mention of the words 'sick' and 'Ikari' woke him up fully. – "So...? What are you doing here?" – he retorted as he began the laborious process of untangling himself from the sheets.

Asuka scoffed in response. – "Don't have any ideas, I couldn't care less where and when you go-"

"But I do." – called out Shephard from somewhere in the apartment. – "And since you're both going to school anyway, you might as well go together."

* * *

><p>"Remember: keep your distance." – Asuka growled at Kaworu as they were walking on the street. – "I don't want anyone to see us together and get the wrong idea."<p>

"Then why are you even coming with me?"

"Say what now?" – she demanded. – "I'm not going with you; **you** are coming with **me**. There's a difference. Besides, I'm only doing this because I was told to, NOT for you."

Kaworu sighed in exasperation. – "Just how many times did you say that in the last 24 hours?" – he pointed out.

Asuka shrugged with a smirk. – "I had to make sure I got the message across; isn't that obvious? Oh wait, don't answer that; it isn't for idiots like you. In case you have any delusions about me liking you in any way, I suggest you nuke them really damn quick."

"What's not to like?"

"Let's see; you're arrogant, sexist, dumb, ugly... need I continue?"

"How am I arrogant?" – he protested.

"You don't admit your screwups, like you never make mistakes and even if you do, it's automatically someone else's fault."

Kaworu leaned a bit closer, causing the girl to back away accordingly. – "Then what about our little talk at night?" – he asked quietly.

She waved dismissively. – "That's an exception. The only one so far so it doesn't count."

"I remember you doing the same when we got our asses kicked last time. And yet you're the one who calls me arrogant?"

The girl grinned impishly. – "Naturally. Women can't be arrogant, only misunderstood. Terms like these need a point of reference to have a meaning; everyone however has a different viewpoint on what consists as normal and what doesn't. By my definition, the phrase 'arrogant' cannot be applied to women because men are the ones who always assert their superiority; therefore, I'm not arrogant from where I stand."

Kaworu rolled his eyes. _'And she called me sexist too... right; just who's the sexist now? Although... I never saw her acting like anything other than a psychobitch. I like this change.'_

'_Isn't that nice?'_ jeered Tabris with unconcealed sarcasm.

'_Like you're one to talk. You're an ass every time you say anything.'_

His response was a groan of exasperation. _'Didn't it occur to you that I might be doing it intentionally? You seem to exhibit what you terrans call reactance: whenever someone says something you don't like, you strive even harder to disprove their assertions. Therefore, you seem to be particularly vulnerable to reverse psychology. You know, she was right when she said you were an idiot if you need me to spell it out for you.'_

'_What's going in with these Angels, anyway?'_

'_The fact that Israfel came means they stopped probing and are getting more aggressive. Exactly what I told you that time. You'd better start praying to whomever you worship because believe me: once they become serious, the three of you alone won't make any difference. AT ALL.'_

Kaworu shook his head, unknowingly drawing a funny look from Asuka. _'Can't do that, sorry.'_

'_What?'_

'_The praying thing. I don't like the idea of not being in control of my own life which kinda conflicts with belief in a higher power. Well, most of 'em. Besides, if I constantly ask others to do things for me or help me out, I'll never achieve anything on my own.'_

'_An atheist, huh?'_ The next words Kaworu heard were the last thing he ever expected to hear from Tabris – not to mention an _**Angel**_._ 'That kind of open-mindedness will carry you far.'_

Before he could formulate an answer, Kaworu was interrupted by Asuka's voice. – "What are you shaking your head for, dumbass?" – she jeered as she stretched, her crimson overcoat's edge rising to her thighs. She didn't have any more coats for the simple reason that she didn't need them before. All the planets she ever visited during her father's assignments were the same to her: airtight facilities with regulated climate and all access to the outside forbidden without an EVA suit. Proteus IV was the only exception of that rule but that planet was a special case anyway. In fact, most of the time the facilities looked so similar she couldn't tell the difference without feeling it from the local surface gravity.

"Nothing."

She shrugged. – "Hm. Suit yourself."

* * *

><p><em>Tokyo-2, Inner District 5<br>0745 hours_

"Hey." – greeted Mari as Asuka marched into the classroom. – "Thought you won't come to school today."

"Had to stay home for a few days, work-related. As for today, it's because of him." – Asuka grumbled as she motioned towards Kaworu. – "I had to wait until he dragged himself out of bed."

Mari and Hikari shared a look before the latter asked. – "Are you trying to say you came to school with _him_?"

"What? No!" – Asuka insisted. – "Why do you think I came in just now instead of right behind him?"

Mari grinned. – "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you waited outside before coming in to avoid starting rumors?"

The long silence and Asuka's angry red face gave her answer.

"Ah, not you too..." – sighed Hikari in annoyance. – "I already had to tell people off."

"What do you mean by that?" – demanded Asuka.

"You mean you don't know?" – asked Mari with surprise.

"What _is_ it with you Japanese? Stop being vague and just say it!"

Mari shrugged. – "While you two were... working, many girls were pestering Kari about Nagisa's whereabouts. He's got a sizeable following from the other classes. Hell, I even heard some _upperclassmen_ talking about him!"

To say Asuka was floored was to say Evangelions were a 'wee bit tall'. – "...you're kidding me, right?" – Upon receiving the negative headshakes from her friends, she exploded. – "_What the hell is wrong with them?_ Is he some kind of creepy secret celebrity or what?"

Hikari sent a dark look in Kaworu's direction who was busily conversing with Touji and Kensuke. – "I agree. There's something that just rubs me the wrong way about him... I don't know what or why but I feel he's up to something."

"You said that back in September, if I remember. Not that they have much chance at stealing him from Ikari; she looks the sore loser type. Plus look at his friends: a male chauvinist jock and an _otamegane_. That's just asking for trouble." – Mari added.

"_Otamegane?_" – asked Asuka with confusion.

"I'll explain later. By the way, isn't Valentine's day coming soon?"

Asuka flipped her hair back. – "So what? It's not like the three of us has anyone to swoon after, right?"

"Uh-huh." – agreed Mari.

"...well... I..."

Both Asuka and Mari looked at a clearly uncomfortable Hikari. – "Let me guess: you want to give him something but doesn't dare approach him directly, right?" – asked Mari with a smirk.

"Who?" – demanded Asuka.

"Suzuhara. She chickens out on him every year since elementary." – supplied Mari.

The blonde groaned. – "Ah, right. I forgot she likes that jerk."

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>1045 hours_

"Sir, we have a situation!" – called Hyuga as his superiors arrived after his call.

"What is it?" – demanded Shephard.

"Unknown object above the Pacific, sir. Gravimetrics say it masses several hundred tons and has an AT-field."

Shephard swore. – "Damnit, another Angel? Already?"

"Negative, sir. It has a sizeable radar cross-section; it's armor-plated."

Shephard threw himself into a chair while Yui went to the techs. – "Is it the military?" – she asked.

Aoba shook his head. – "They're asking if it's us so it's definitely not them, ma'am."

Yui looked at Shephard. – "Do you think-?"

"-it's that Evangelion again?"- the man finished her thought. – "Might be."

"The 57th Fighter Group is pursuing it but the target is doing over Mach 2, making interception difficult." – added Maya.

Shephard's head immediately snapped up at that. – "Mach 2? That's more than the rated maximum in atmosphere for a _Nova_! How did they get that close in the first place?" – While he wasn't part of the Navy, Shephard knew enough about fighters to realize a tail chase was inherently futile if the pursuer has a weaker power plant.

"The squadron is based on the _CSC-24 Sevastopol_ of the 7th Carrier Battlegroup; the carrier is currently performing controlled reentry in the area. Additionally, we have had the MAGI subtly infiltrate their system; the squadron is outfitted with some new equipment." – The main screen showed several wireframe diagrams of a fighter with an aerodynamic hump on its back, ending in a thruster.

"Does that look familiar, colonel?" – asked Yui.

The man nodded. – "Mark 1 Interceptor Pack. I heard R&D was in the final stages but I had no idea it's already ready for field deployment. I don't know what it's capable of in terms of level flight speed but its thrust-to-weight ratio is so high a _Nova_ equipped with that can go suborbital without assistance."

Before Yui could answer, Maya broke in. – "That's not all, sir. Another unknown is being tracked by sat visual. It's not responding to hails and three carrier battlegroups are on an intercept course."

"_Three_ CBGs?" – asked Shephard with surprise. – "What the hell are they going after that needs so much firepower?"

"It's a ship, sir. Unknown classification, no IFF. Significantly larger than a battlecruiser."

"Define 'larger'."

"1200 meters, sir." – replied Aoba.

Shephard whistled. – "That's big; they should've been able to notice it long before now."

"It's been hiding behind the Moon and is not showing up on radar, sir. Might be stealth."

"Even a ship that size would have a detectable radar cross-section." – retorted Hyuga.

"More importantly," – broke in Yui impatiently, silencing both techs. – "where did it come from and where is it going?"

"As far as we can tell, it's been hiding behind the Moon. It's currently on a collision course with the Barrier."

"Suicidal idiots. What are they trying to achieve?" – Shephard seethed.

"These guys are serious; 30 planes, a whole air group for just one target?" – muttered Aoba as he glanced at the screen, the six echelons of five planes each slowly creeping towards their victim.

"Won't you call them not to fire?" – Yui inquired.

Shephard shrugged. – "Doc, that carrier has an OF-6 onboard which is two full ranks higher than me. Besides, I'm an Army officer. Do you think they'd listen to me?"

"Point taken." – she admitted after a brief pause.

"We're patched in." – Maya reported.

"_Mother Hen, Moebius Lead. Tally on the bogey, no cons. What's the word? Over._" – came the squadron leader's voice.

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. What is it?_" – inquired the carrier's ATC officer.

"_No idea, sir. Doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. Over._"

"_Moebius Lead, Moebius Six. Those things look like wings, sir. Over._"

"_You trying to be a smartass again, Six?_" – asked another pilot with a laugh.

"_Hey, I'm just stating the facts!_"

Yui glanced as Shephard with a questioning expression who just shrugged with a smirk. – "Those kinds of military mavericks are everywhere. Did you think I'm the only one?"

The chatter was broken up by the squadron leader's voice. – "_Airmen - mouths shut, eyes forward. Mother Hen, request bogey dope. Over._"

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. No dope; close in and authenticate."_

"What are they talking about?" – asked Yui from Shephard.

"I don't know either, they're using brevity code." – the man replied but didn't elaborate further.

"_Mother Hen, Moebius Lead. Authentication negative. Repeat, bogey is sour. Over._

"_Sour? This guy's not squawking at all. Over._" – added another pilot. Right as the word left his mouth, the unknown icon disappeared from the screen while the others started flickering.

"_Mother Hen, we have heavy strobe. Bogey has active music. Repeat, active music. Warning YELLOW. Fox Two and Fox Three bent._" – came the flight leader's tense voice overlaid with audible white noise.

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. We're receiving new orders from Actual. Stand by. Over._"

The lead fighter's icon lurched forward and closed in until it was right on top of the unknown's. – "_Mother Hen, commencing visual ID now. Moebius Lead is eyeball._" – A brief pause followed. – "_Bandit is not aircraft. Repeat, bandit is not aircraft. Over._"

The NERV crew instantly perked up at that. – "I _knew_ it was that guy!" – Shephard whispered to himself.

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. What is it? Over._"

"_Bandit is artificial humanoid, Over._"

A long pause followed. – "_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. Come again? Over._"

"_Bandit is artificial humanoid. Significantly larger than a _Buster_. Bandit has tail code. Stand by for transmission... bandit tail code follows: 'Oscar Lima Romeo Delta. Papa Sierra Echo dash X-ray Sierra Zero One'. Acknowledge transmission. Over. _"

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. Acknowledge OLRD PSE-XS01. Confirm, over._"

"_Confirmed. Dropping- whoa._" – The fighter's icon sharply dropped away from the unknown's. – "_Mother Hen, bandit just did an aileron roll. Almost took my wing off._"

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. New orders; you are cleared hot. Drop back to BVR and slapshot the bandit. Over._"

"_Mother Hen, Moebius Lead. Wilco. Over._" – All fighter icons started backing off at once.

"Did they give up?" – Yui asked.

"Probably. They can't aim their missiles with that jamming in place." – A few seconds later, Shephard ate his words when the squadron's repeated warnings of "_Magnum_" were followed by thirty missiles streaking forward at what they now knew was an Evangelion. – "How the hell-? Never mind."

"Sir, sorry to interrupt but the orbital target just dropped off the scope." – butted in Maya. – "No visual, no gravimetrics; it's gone. We detected an anomalous displacement field in its location just prior to and after its disappearance. The waveform is completely alien to us, sir; no resemblance to any existing or known teleportation technology."

Before Yui could ask her to be more specific, the Evangelion's situation took a sudden change. – "_Impact in- no joy! No joy! Bandit is accelerating!_" – Both leaders perked up at the surprised confusion in the pilot's voice. On the screen, the Evangelion was now rapidly gaining distance from the fighters. – "_Bandit left Magnum range and will be faded in twenty seconds!_"

"_Mother Hen to all units, go buster and continue engagement. Over._"

After five seconds of silence, the squadron leader's calm voice came. – "_Mother Hen, Moebius Lead. Unable to comply, target too fast. Repeat, unable to achieve interception. Over._"

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. Report fuel status, over._"

They heard the leader consult with the others before replying. – "_Mother Hen, Moebius Lead. Thirteen minutes to bingo fuel with BACKPACK. Should we drop it and continue? Over._"

"_Moebius Lead, Mother Hen. Negative. You are cleared to bugout. Over._"

"Ma'am, atmospheric target disappeared from gravimetrics array too." – reported Maya.

"What do you mean, disappeared? Did it hit the Barrier or what?" – demanded Shephard.

"No, sir. The array detected another displacement field at the target's last known location. Destination and waveform type unknown but not the same as the orbital target."

"What was its final recorded speed?"

The techs looked at each other before Hyuga answered. – "...over Mach 7."

A seconds-long stunned silence was broken by Yui's shaken whisper. – "How... how is that even possible? At that speed the atmospheric friction would melt the armor off!"

"You're the science guy, you tell me." – grumbled Shephard but he was equally impressed with the Evangelion's performance. – "Doc... whatever that guy is flying with, _I want it_."

She nodded. – "We'll get the MAGI on it right away; this kind of power is something we can't ignore any longer." – She looked at the screen where the fighters were now on course for their carrier. – "Do you think we'll see it again?"

He followed her gaze, lingering it on the screen for a while. – "I have a hunch that wasn't the last time we crossed paths." – he said finally.


	11. Chapter 11

_Next chapter. No action here either, only exposition. Hard to believe but I actually wrote this in one go – a far cry from my usual snail-pace of one paragraph then several days of laziness._

* * *

><p><em>Geofront, AEL Headquarters<br>February 24, 2042  
>0012 hours<em>

"You're here. Good." – Yui remarked as Shephard entered her office. It was the time they agreed on three days before.

"Of course I'm here, doc." – the man retorted. – "Are we going or what?"

She merely nodded and left the office with Shephard in tow. They navigated a long maze of corridors before they finally arrived to an elevator door with a pair of cameras watching it, various identification measures piled up on the wall next to it and a large sign above it.

**SECTOR T MEGADEPTH RESEARCH FACILITY – RESTRICTED ACCESS  
><strong>

Yui paused abruptly and turned to Shephard. – "There are two things you should be aware of, colonel. First, what you may see down there will change your entire outlook of the situation we have here. I advise you to consider very carefully whether you truly want to know what we're hiding from the public because once you say yes, there is no turning back."

"Doc... if I wasn't sure, would I even be here?" – the man quipped dryly.

"...point taken. Second, you must keep to yourself everything you see down there. Not even your superiors must know about it or they will march in here guns blazing 'for our own good'." – she added the last part with air quotes. – "Unless you agree to this, you will not go beyond this point."

He groaned. – "Ah, for cryin' out loud... doc, do you even _want_ me to know or not? Decide already."

"That's it, then. Just don't claim I didn't warn you." – she said finally as she turned to the elevator and tapped a long sequence on the keyboard, her finger lingering on the final key to let the machine scan her fingerprint. Next she looked into the iris scanner until the machine beeped affirmative and extended a breath analyzer she blew into. Finally, she spoke to the console. – "_And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells; who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind._"

The console beeped thrice in rapid succession and the door opened, revealing an elevator.

"Spooky... what was that?" – he asked, referring to the passphrase she said.

"Jewish apocrypha. The Book of Enoch, chapter 7 verse 2." – she said curtly as looked into the camera near the ceiling before entering the same sequence into the keypad inside the elevator. The doors closed and the elevator started descending with such a speed Shephard staggered and winced as his sense of balance completely disappeared.

Yui didn't seem affected by it as she merely leaned against the wall with arms crossed in front of her. – "We're about to enter the oldest part of the facility. What you've seen so far was constructed fairly recently but this shaft predates Second Impact."

Shephard's head perked up at that. – "What do you mean? I thought you built this place!"

"The Geofront was originally discovered mere weeks before Second Impact. They didn't have much time to study it before the Seven Hour War destroyed all records. It was rediscovered when the Confederacy expanded into Japan. As far as we could tell, the Geofront is a near-perfect sphere with a diameter of approximately 13.75 kilometers; the bottom is only a few kilometers away from the local Mohorovičić discontinuity, even deeper than the Kola superdeep borehole dug a decade before Second Impact. It has an extensive natural cave system but that's not the most interesting part."

"Then what? Get to the point, doc."

"The sphere has a hard outer shell made of a material unlike anything we have ever seen. It simultaneously shows physical properties of metal, plastic and glass. Metallurgically, it shows distant similarities to the Lance of Longinus."

"Which you have no idea what it's made of either." – he added with a sigh.

"That's not my point. This material is completely alien to us; it's not found anywhere else on Earth or the colonies. Not even the Combine's dark matter alloys show the same properties. And that cave system... what few seismic tests were done show it extends beyond the Geofront. All indications point at the Geofront being artificial in origin – and it wasn't built by us OR the Combine." – she pointed out.

"Are you saying we have another bunch of wannabe alien overlords out there?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. But that is not why we came for." – She sighed as she continued. – "Project E started back in 2026 when I and my then-husband were jointly heading this company. We received an open-ended contract from the military to study and replicate Combine synth technology. This presented a unique opportunity for us since... something was entrusted to us for safekeeping only the year before."

Shephard nodded. – "The Lance of Longinus."

"Not quite. True, we received the Lance too but it was only secondary to what you would call a 'motherload': a unique specimen of an alien species never encountered before. Unfortunately it was already deceased but for some unknown reason, its carcass does not decay at all – most likely inedible to terrestrial bacteria. It took us several years but we managed to extract enough genetic material to get a preliminary study."

"And?"

"Quad-helix DNA instead of the double-helix of terrestrial organisms but it was badly damaged; we were outright surprised the entity was still capable of protein synthesis before it died. Heavy mutation was present across all chromosomes – at least we _presume_ they were chromosomes. There is no way to tell for sure what was natural and what wasn't. It had some internal cybernetics but nothing on the level of Combine technology."

"So?"

"Most surprising, it had strands of vortigaunt DNA in it. The rest wasn't even similar so we presume it was artificially spliced in using gene therapy decades, if not centuries, more advanced than what we currently have. For entirely valid reasons, we didn't want to experiment on the creature itself so we started experimenting on its DNA instead. First off, we wanted to see what would happen if we were to replace those vortigaunt strands with human ones, what morphological differences would we see?" – She smiled fondly. – "Tell me, did you know Unit-00's full production number is _PrE-0025?_"

Shephard shrugged, finally regaining his balance as he felt the elevator slow down. – "I do now." – he managed to get out just before the elevator shaft was replaced with a glass tube descending through a vaguely tubular chamber with what looked like huge black body bags hanging from the wall. Each one had a four-digit number – **0001** through **0023** – stamped on it in red, followed by the word **REJECTED**. It didn't take him much to guess the content of those bags.

Corpses. Evangelion corpses.

Yui continued as if nothing unusual was going on. – "Genetic engineering is a slow and laborious process with lots of dead-ends and backtracking. The first prototypes were nothing but a bloated mass of flesh with no clearly recognizable anatomy other than the occasional malformed leg; those we euthanized and cremated as they were useless to us. We only started numbering them once we achieved a roughly tetrapodal body shape, although many had missing or malformed limbs. 0021 was the first anatomically complete humanoid model. That one." – she said as she pointed to a body bag with near the bottom. Shephard noticed the top was much larger than the bottom as if a giant fetus was inside. – "It still couldn't survive without external life support, nor the next two." – She pointed at the final two. – "Still, they're on minimal life support. 0024 was the breakthrough we've been waiting for." – she said with a victorious smirk.

"Which one is it?" – the man asked as he looked around but didn't see a bag with that number.

"You won't find it here. It's morphologically identical to Unit-00 but has underdeveloped extremities. It can't even support its own weight without external assistance. It served as the test bed of Unit-00's cybernetics but was never finished." – The elevator went dark again as they reached the bottom of the chamber and reentered the shaft.

"Is that one alive too?"

"In a sense, yes. We put it in cryogenic storage but periodically wake it up to monitor the effects of prolonged cryopreservation on Evangelions."

"And what about the three failed ones?" – Shephard asked as the elevator finally stopped and they disembarked.

"This way." – Yui motioned and marched off to a long corridor with doors on both sides. All were closed so Shephard could only guess they hid laboratories. – "We wanted to turn them into obedient war machines but all prototypes ended up vegetative and completely non-responsive to outside stimuli. It was most frustrating for the development team when all our efforts seemed to be in vain. That was the case with 0024 as well when it became operational in 2029. The entire project was on the verge of falling apart when the works of your late wife came to our attention."

The man instantly stopped. – "What? How the hell does she come into this?" – he demanded.

Yui turned around. – "Her work unexpectedly ended up helping us. The paper she published about metaphysical biology turned out to be the final piece of the puzzle. It showed us what we've been missing the whole time!"

"And that was...?"

"An Evangelion's core contains a unique neuron lattice with performance on par with a human brain, if not above it. Problem is, biology isn't magic. Merely cloning a human doesn't mean the clone would be mentally functional. That was the case with the Evangelions as well: they were grown artificially and lacked all lifetime development usually experienced by humans. What we needed wasn't a modification in the gene sequence defining their nervous system; what we needed was a consciousness, a _soul_, if you will."

"A soul." – he stated deadpan, clearly skeptical.

"Yes. I know it sounds unlikely to you but to us, it was a revelation on par with a divine vision at the time." – She turned around, silent for a few moments. – "Some say the ability to create a soul is reserved to God; others say the same souls are being reincarnated over and over again. We're not gods, nor do we have the ability to control souls. Our only options were: harvest an existing one from a human or create one ourselves. The first was obviously out of the question as no self-respecting scientist should resort to human sacrifice. The second one was equally difficult at first glance but then we realized: we already had the technology to create what we were searching for. It took us two long years but we finally managed to upload a specially crafted AI into 0025's core. And thus, Lilith was born."

"So that's how you created the Evangelions."

"Indeed." – She shrugged dismissively. – "0024 served as the prototype for the process. I doubt you heard about Naoko Akagi but she had a theory to use Evangelion cores as wetware before her untimely death. Her research resulted in the MAGI system running this base by giving 0021, 0022 and 0023 simpler AIs then wiring their cores into a computer system, creating the MAGI. The rest is not quite interesting as Evangelion development slowed down afterwards and I had personal problems, the foremost of which was my divorce back in 2031. My husband left the company around the same time." – She suddenly resumed walking, forcing Shephard to hurry after her. – "We're here." – she said minutes later when they were standing in front of a heavy door with the same security measures she used to enter the elevator. – "All security measures you saw so far are in place to protect this." – she said as she went through the checks. – "If unauthorized people try to access the elevator, the MAGI triggers a base-wide security alarm. The elevator shaft itself is lined up with shaped charges which automatically collapse the shaft if the elevator is compromised."

"You're serious about keeping out intruders, aren't you?" – he asked dryly.

Yui smirked. – "That's not all. When the facility was built, President Keel was gracious enough to provide us with enough fissile material to implement a final safety measure in the form of an advanced radiation weapon. When activated, the warhead releases a high-energy burst of neutron radiation and instantly kills every lifeform down to and including bacteria. The isolation tube and the newer facilities aren't affected."

"Jeez... don't you think that's extreme?" – Shephard asked with a sweatdrop as the door opened and they entered a large observation room with glass floor, although the area below was pitch black.

"Like I said, it was all implemented to protect _this_." – she said as large floodlights below them switched on and illuminated the dark area. – "The entity in the middle of it all: the Source."

A minute-long silence followed, broken by Shephard's indignant yell. – "**ARE YOU PEOPLE COMPLETELY INSANE?**"

Yui raised an eyebrow. – "Did I not tell you we have a valid reason not to experiment on the Source itself?"

"Whatever! **What the hell is the **_**NIHILANTH**_** of all things doing down here?** I thought this fucker was supposed to have died on Xen!" – he yelled as he pointed at the gray creature sprawled out under them.

"_Language_, colonel." – she warned. – "And don't worry; it truly is dead, thanks to the handiwork of Gordon Freeman. From his account of the Source when it was still alive, I don't think we would've wanted to go anywhere near it, much less get samples to experiment on." – She looked at the entity below them. – "Although I was never told how exactly did they bring it to Earth. My field is biotechnology, not teleportation; not even the Lambda Reactor back in Black Mesa would be powerful enough to teleport that much mass."

"Maybe they rigged something up at Focal Point Station but still, this _thing_ caused Second Impact singlehandedly! How could anyone think bringing it to Earth was a good idea?" – he insisted.

"As far as we know, the Combine is unaware of the Geofront's existence. The Confederate leadership probably wants to keep the Nihilanth out of the Combine's hands. If their Advisors were to have even a fraction of the Nihilanth's power..." – she shook her head seriously.

"There wouldn't be much of an Earth left behind the next invasion." – he finished grimly. – "Shiiit... first the Nihilanth, then the Combine, now these Angels. Freeman would have a field day here! What's going on, did the entire _**universe**_ decided to pick on us?"

"That's not quite the case." – At his questioning glance, Yui finally dropped the bombshell. – "We cross-referenced the Nihilanth's DNA with those of the Angels; if the vortigaunt sequences are disregarded, it's an almost identical match."

Shephard looked like he's going to be sick. – "So... what? The Nihilanth was another Angel?"

Yui shook her head. – "No. The difference is more subtle... an evolutionary ancestor or offshoot, maybe? Again, that isn't my field so I don't know. What we do know is that the Angels somehow _know_ it's down here."

"So you're saying-"

She nodded. – "Exactly. It's highly possible the Nihilanth is what's attracting the Angels like flypaper."


End file.
